


Despite the falling snow

by morgansoul



Series: Tumblr prompts for Christmas [4]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Love Confession, Modern AU, Not a One shot anymore, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Snow Storm, Unwanted Kiss, Yule Ball, they get cold and wet, tumblr prompt ran out of my hands again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28386408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgansoul/pseuds/morgansoul
Summary: Aretuza is an academy for your prodigies and holds a Yule Ball every year, but this year things get complicated due to a blizzard.
Relationships: Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Tumblr prompts for Christmas [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086650
Comments: 35
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This had to be a one-shot.
> 
> This had to be fluffy and cute.
> 
> This had to be a lot of things that this is not, so I am doing what Stern told me and I am spliting it in some /short/ chapters. I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> So this story is for anon on Tumblr who requested "Snow Storm! A nice Northern Big Boi + a would-have-to-pull-over-your-car type pal + a 'The meanest part of Zeus' cold heart came to say a harty 'fuck you' to The Continent' like bro" and also suggested "Maybe a warm snowed-in plot", "battling the cold and wet" and "we can't find the building we need to get inside, its snowing so hard. Oh look, is that it?"
> 
> Dear anon, I don't know how, but you have all of it in here, I hope you liked it, and if you want it gifted to you, just say so <3

"Good morning, Tissaia," the dark-haired woman left a cup of coffee on the table in front of the chestnut, who only smiled slightly without looking away from some papers she was reviewing, trusting that was enough to hide the slight blush from her own cheeks.

Holding a dejected sigh, Yennefer walked away to sit next to Triss, trying not to look too often in the direction of the other woman. If someone asked her, she would deny she was trying to flirt with the academy headmistress and she’d assure she would do that for anyone who asked her, even if it was a cheeky lie —she'd probably send anyone who dared to ask for a cup of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning, unless it was Triss, for a walk.

The seconds passed and for the third time Yennefer looked in the direction where the woman sat, along with other teachers, one of the two people who sat next to Tissaia growled and took the papers out of her hands, the expression on her face being severe.

"You can't hide behind something every time Yennefer comes near you".

"Of course I can, that's what I just did, Vanielle," the chestnut sighed and tried to get back the papers she had been stolen, more recovered from the little gay panic she’d deny she had just had.

"She's brought you coffee, again. Probably with sugar and milk, exactly the way you like it... And you don't even say hello?" Now it was the blonde who decided to take part in the conversation.

"She’s just trying to earn my favor, like everyone else," the chestnut replied with a grim expression and Vanielle looked at her horrified and holding herself back from punching her boss and best friend.

"Francesca, tell her something," Margarita looked at the other woman with blond hair, who partially hid behind her cup of coffee, "by the Goddess, I'm surrounded by cowards, haven't you spoken to Sheala either?"

Silence at that question was enough for Rita, who buried her head between her own forearms, despondent. Why did it cost them all so much to behave like mature women? To be clear, that question coming from a woman who tended to get drunk with the slightest chance and who spent all her time doing nonsense… That had to mean something, right?

While Francesca and Sheala were the clear example of everything that could go wrong when mixing work and feelings, showing why one of Tissaia's main rules had always been that her staff should not maintain relationships beyond friendship with each other, that rule had been ignored by virtually every single person present in the building. To begin with, the two deputy heads of the school for young prodigies had become engified with two other teachers —everyone knew that between Vanielle and Keira there had been a relationship for years, but no one mentioned it as long as it did not interfere with their work; and Margarita had only stopped trying to seduce everyone who moved since she had started spending much more time than usual with Philippa some years ago—in addition to them, Francesca and Sheala had been snoring each other for years and their relationship was anything but stable; then there were Triss and Sabrina, who formed a most adorable couple, and Lytta and Ida, who neither denied nor recognized having anything, but probably half of the students had already planned the wedding for them because, clearly, they were made for each other. In fact, it could be said that the only single people in the whole school were Tissaia, the principal, Yennefer, one of the teachers, Fringilla and Stregobor, the academy's links to the government, and Vilgefortz, another of the teachers and the man who was approaching straight to Tissaia with two cups in his hands, one of them clearly intended for the headmistress. The difference between the man and Tissaia was that he was the only one with something straight on his self.

Without hesitation and pretending not to have seen him walk towards her, Tissaia took the cup that Yennefer had left in front of her and ignored Vanielle's funny gaze at such a reaction. With something so stupid, the brunette had just won about two hundred dollars in betting and was back at the top of the pool... A betting pool that Rita definitely did not have on the back of one of her whiteboards in the staff room and that Philippa did not update daily, according to the forecast of events of each day. Of course, since the table didn't exist, neither Tissaia nor Yennefer were aware of the number of bets the rest of the teachers placed in reference to what moves each of them would make, when and how. Who could blame them? They lived in a private academy, in the middle of nowhere, with an internet connection that disappeared with any storm, and away from society, while educating young prodigies. They needed some fun once in a while.

Vilgefortz, however, did not let Tissaia's action demotivate him and, determinedly, approached and placed one of the cups he was carrying in front of the chestnut, who did not even turn to look at him, taking back the papers Vanielle had in her hand. Unlike Yennefer, the man cried to get her attention and, despite not having it, rested one of his hands on the table and sketched a charming smile, willing to sit while uninvited.

"Good morning, Tissaia, I must say that time has improved since I have seen you," Vilgefortz stated, proud of his own compliment. However, the deputy directors saw the destructive response coming from the moment the poor idiot had the little head to say that.

"It's snowing since last night, it's been awfully cold and the wind has ruined our internet connection again, we all are freezing despite the heating and the firewood and you have no idea how bad is my migraine due to the storm," Tissaia's words were so indifferent that even some hatred would have been nice, but her eyes didn't give up any emotion, "and among my many talents are not climate control or chronokinesis. Not to mention that it's starting to snow harder since you've approached, which leads me to consider offering you a short walk from here to the city, to see if the storm stops and goes away, so we can continue with our usual schedule. You’re invited to decide if you’d prefer to get out of my sight or get out of the academy".

By the time Tissaia finished, Vilgefortz had gone a step back and was a little pale.

"Have a good day, ma’am" he managed to articulate, before turning around and disappearing.

"My tits are freezing from being so close to that icy heart," Rita joked, trying to hold a laugh when Tissaia used her papers to punch her softly in the head, "I don't understand how he doesn't give up. It hasn’t even been your worst ‘fuck off’ ".

"Speaking of surrendering, your real suitor is fuming," Vanielle murmured, looking towards Yennefer, who seemed to be planning how to kill Vilgefortz, while Triss held her with one arm around her shoulders, "at least one of them gets that you don’t like men".

Tissaia ventured to direct a quick glance in Yennefer’s direction, forcing herself not to smile when she saw the murderous look in the brunette's eyes. However, the chestnut quickly looked away and stood up, the papers in one hand and Yennefer's cup in another; maybe it was a stupid thing to do, but it felt that the most polite thing she could do in that situation was to let the young woman see that she definitely preferred any drink she offered her, rather than whatever Vilgefortz gave her.

"I'm going to check that we have everything we needed for the holidays before the storm completely closes the roads," Tissaia gave her friends a little smile, even though they all knew it was just an excuse to run away, "don't let them daydream too much. The last day of school is still a day of school".

Most students had stayed at the academy that year, as weather predictions had forced nearby airports to cancel all flights. That was the main reason Tissaia was concerned that the provisions they would have to spend the next three weeks were not enough that year. She preferred to make a quick trip to the nearest city and load her own car with food, rather than allow something to get in the way between teachers and students, and the traditional Yule Ball that was held every year and for which only two days remained.

Tissaia was so immersed in her own thoughts that, as she passed near Yennefer, she did not see how her entire face lit up when she saw that the cup she carried in her hand was hers, or how an excited smile threatened to give away much more than the brunette was willing to publicly acknowledge. Thus, leaving behind an excited Yennefer and certain friends too gossipy to disguise the way they were watching the scene, the headmistress left the large dining room and headed for the kitchens to do a last-minute review with the governor and the head of the kitchen. The conversation was not very extensive, but fortunately the last order of food had arrived in perfect condition and they would have no problem spending two months isolated, if necessary, according to Jaskier. After all, Gors Velen, the nearest town, was half an hour's drive away, three times the time on foot; besides, between the school and the city, there was only one house and, as far as everyone knew, except for the people who kept and cleaned it all year round, it had been abandoned for a long time and no one lived in it. In winter, given the tendency to snowfall and storms, those who kept the house made their last visit in November, until the end of January; so you could say that there was absolutely no one in more than forty kilometers around. For the same reason, leaving school in winter was quite reckless and only some students used to take the risk just to get home —at least those who had a family to return with or that wanted to meet them— however, those who stayed were strictly forbidden to leave the school grounds. So, knowing that no one would leave Aretuza until after the snowfall, not even her, Tissaia was much calmer.

"Tissaia, my dear, can we talk?" Nenneke, the governor and the oldest person at the school, placed a hand on her arm before the chestnut put her foot on the first step to climb to the first floor.

"Of course," the headmistress smiled fondly, for she was the woman who had raised her, after all, "tell me".

"It's something you're not going to like, let's go to your office so we could sit".

When the old lady said something wasn't going to please her, it was usually a major catastrophe or problem. Everyone knew that, as strict as she always was, Nenneke always tried to fix all setbacks before they reached the principal’s ears; she always took the responsibility of being the one to notify her of them once they were covered. So, when Nenneke said something wasn't going to please Tissaia, the best thing chestnut could do was sit and take a deep breath.

Letting herself be taken to her office by the old lady, Tissaia kept the door open for Nenneke to enter first and then closed once they were both inside. The governor didn’t wait for an invitation to sit in one of the seats in front of the fireplace, waiting for the principal to occupy the other. It was at that moment that Tissaia knew something was fucked up. It was one thing for Nenneke to ask her to sit in the chair in front of her desk, but to go straight to the armchair in front of the fireplace…

"Who's dead? Are my sister and the girls fine?"

"No one died yet and they are fine, as far as I know," the old lady sighed dramatically and looked at the free armchair, without adding any more. Tissaia, understanding what she wanted, finally took a seat, doing her best not to worry even more and to stop fidgeting, "the order of food wasn't the only one who had to arrive today".

"Were there any more orders? Did something happen? Is everybody alright?"

"Everyone's fine, but the lumberjacks have called me to tell me that they don't want to risk the snow catching them on the road and they won't pass from Gors Velen," she said.

"The lum...? No," Tissaia's face, which until then had only reflected confusion, instantly turned into a bitter grimace, "we cannot celebrate Yule without the log, the ball…"

"I know, my dear," Nenneke leaned forward to take the hands of the headmistress, who instead stood up and started pacing around the office, "I’ll call Cintra to tell Calanthe to light the wood for us. It's best if this year we don’t..."

"Don’t you dare. There’s no way," without stopping, the younger woman took the chain hanging from her neck and started playing with the golden pendant, "we can't cancel the ball, you know it better than anyone, nana".

"My dear, there hasn't been an encounter in years," the old lady stood up and approached Tissaia, placing her hands in her forearms to keep her still in one place, "going for the log to the city is an unnecessary risk, it’s reckless and dangerous".

"Three years… Only three years. And the fact that there have not been any encounters in three years, doesn't mean there can't be some this year..." The chestnut touched the pendant, restless, she couldn't let the ball be canceled, not with everything involved on it, "I'll go to the town. If I go out now, I'll be able to get back before the storm gets worse and the snow is too high".

"I don't think that's a wise decision," the woman tightened her grip on the woman’s forearms, trying to reinforce her posture and her words, "don't do it, it's not worth it, little skylark".

"Any chance of a pairing, however small, is worth it," Tissaia curved her lips in a little smile, "don't tell anyone, I'll be back in two hours. I love you nana," saying that, she left a kiss on Nenneke's forehead and broke away from her to look for some things on her desk.

Without a word, Nenneke left the office, closing behind her and pulling out her mobile. With a little luck, Tissaia wouldn't even get out of her office on time.

Yes, the principal may have regretted teaching the governor how to use her phone to send messages or make quick calls —rather than having to go looking for people from one end of school to another—, when someone came into her office without even calling and decided to lean against the closed door to prevent her from going through it; but that didn't make her concern for the older woman to go away overnight. With a dramatic sigh, Tissaia took the bag off her shoulder and looked at her friend with her most innocent expression and her best puppy eyes. That resource always worked with the brunette, so she was sure that day would too, right? Vanielle was not immune to her emotional blackmail.

"No, don't you dare look at me like that when Nenneke told me you intend to take your car to go to Gors Velen with the blizzard coming up," the woman had her arms crossed and was frowning, "you're not doing it, love, and it’s not a question".

"It will only be two hours at most, Vanielle, please," Tissaia kept the same expression, "we can't celebrate the ball without Yule's log, and I refuse to cancel it".

"You're not going to take the stupid risk of going on a trip and putting yourself in danger just for a stupid ball, tradition and superstition," without being willing to give in, Vanielle reached out to her friend. They both knew it was beyond traditions and superstitions, but the brunette was not willing to lose her friend, "give me the keys to your car. They're all warned they can't lend you theirs, so don't bother trying to convince them".

Tissaia held Vanielle's gaze for several seconds, but she ended up taking a hand to her purse to take her keys out and leave them on her friend's hand. It was clear that she disagreed with the woman's posture, but when Vanielle made a decision, not even she or Rita could change her mind; it was a lost battle. The brunette, however, understood why Tissaia felt the need to celebrate the dance, as every year, so she approached her and surrounded her with both arms, holding her tightly.

"I know how important it is to you, Tiss, but you're much more important to us and we're not willing to lose you," Vanielle whispered against her hair, before leaving a kiss on it, "next year we'll make sure we make up for this one and it'll be a thousand times better. Don't be mad at nana, please".

Tissaia sighed, but ended up nodding and hugging her friend, defeated. She hated when she was right and there was nothing she could do to argue with her.

"I won't... Although I'm not going to give you my dessert today," she protested.

"Auch. That hurt me, spiteful eel," the brunette pouted.

"You'll have to live with the consequences of your actions, deal with it," Tissaia stuck out her tongue, and with it Vanielle smiled and finally let her go, "now go to work, chop chop. You have class in ten minutes".

"Yes, headmistress," Vanielle made sure to leave a kiss on the chestnut’s cheek and wink at her before turning around and leaving the office.

Tissaia counted to one hundred, wanting, to make sure her friend had left and that she had no intention of coming back, before dropping the bag to the ground, turning to her desk and throwing virtually everything on it to the floor. A little cry of frustration left her throat, against her will, when she decided to kick one of the chairs back. She was furious, defeated and had momentarily lost control of her emotions, letting them surface. Yes, maybe she should do better to control her inner chaos and find her usual balance before she finished destroying her own office, breaking something of value, seeing more imaginary Yennefers by the door, losing some important documents or... Hold on. The chestnut suddenly turned to the door, where she encountered a stunned and ridiculously beautiful woman with black hair and violet eyes, looking at her as if it was the first time she saw her.

"How long... Have you been there?"

"Since you've thrown the letter opener at Stregobor," Yennefer muttered, moving her head to the spot above the chimney where a photo of all the teachers next to Nenneke and the two links to the government rested.

With terrifying precision, a paper knife was nailed to the white-bearded man's head. The young teacher had not dared to interrupt the headmistress in the middle of that fit of anger, for fear that she would have a second weapon to throw at her. Adding 'shame' to Tissaia's list of things she was feeling right now, the woman decided that the best thing she could do was sit on the desk —the chairs were lying on the floor, anyway— with her eyes down and her cheeks scarlet red.

"If I'd known you were going to get so upset because Vanielle said we couldn't lend you our cars, I would have waited a little before I came," Yennefer smiled, though the other woman dared not talk or look at her, "I... Well, I was wondering if, whatever you want to do, you'd want to do it with some company…"

Faced with that, Tissaia raised her head and looked at her, completely lost.

"I mean, if you have a date or something, this is going to be super embarrassing, but if that's not the case... Well, I was wondering if you'd like me to take you," Yennefer put both hands in her pants pockets, looking down and gently kicking the ground with her toe, "to the city, I mean. Not take you in the sense of… You know… Anyway, Vanielle said we couldn't lend you our cars, but she didn’t say that we couldn't take you to... "The brunette lost any ability to talk or think when warm, soft lips briefly perched on her cheek, a pleasant smell of oak, vanilla and coffee wrapping her suddenly and almost making her melt on the spot.

"You'd save my life if you did that," Tissaia whispered, slowly leaning back as she realized how dangerously close she was to the teacher, "but I don't want to get you in trouble".

"Technically, it wouldn't be a problem because it was her mistake not to clarify," completely blushing and about to die of happiness, Yennefer smiled like an idiot and had to hold back so she wouldn't skip on the spot, "do I take the kiss as a yes, then? You know I’m always up to bad decisions".

"When do we get out?" Tissaia recoiled another step, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

"See you downstairs in ten minutes So no one will have time to miss us and... I can make some excuse for someone to cover my classes?" She was staring at the headmistress’ lips, she needed to kiss them and to make her stop biting them.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but... It sounds perfect".

* * *

"Has anyone seen Yen? She was supposed to come and help me put the lights on the first break," Sabrina dropped on one of the sofas in the teachers' room, with a heavy sigh; she was going to kill that idiot as soon as she found her.

"She said she was unwell and indisposed," Ida brought a cup of coffee to the blonde, "I think Lytta has been covering her first class".

"And I'll take care of the next one," Sheala added, without looking up from the book she was reading.

"Shouldn't Tissaia do it?" Philippa was with her back to everyone, looking out the window and trying to suppress a half smile. What evil could make to cause a little chaos?

"We'd better not disturb Tissaia today," Vanielle took a seat in a chair next to Keira's, leaving both cups of tea on the table and trying not to smile now that she was near the blonde.

"I'm not even going to ask what happened," Rita sighed, "but what happened? I’m dying to know."

"She wanted to go to Gors Velen to pick up the log for Yule's ball, but the weather is supposed to get even worse today, so I didn't let her make the trip," Vanielle leaned slightly toward her _friend_ , stopping when she realized she was doing so.

"Mhm, it's a shame about the ball. Sabrina, you’d have to take those lights down…" Sabrina glared furiously at Philippa. The lights would stay where they were, "but if both Tissaia and Yennefer are indisposed and in their rooms..." Philippa tried to hide her mocking expression when she turned around and looked at the rest of the teachers. She wouldn't push the matter any further, it didn't suit her if she wanted to win first place on the betting pool and five hundred dollars with it, so she'd just drop that suggestion.

"After my next class, I'm going to go find Tissaia to see if I can convince her to celebrate the ball, even if it's without the log and the ritual," Vanielle sighed heavily. She didn't want to put pressure on her friend when she knew she would be upset about that thing, in fact, maybe she'd make her chocolate cookies to make up for forcing her to stay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two grown ups behave like teens and they end up naked in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I love Vanielle, so I am using her everywhere I can, sorry.

The first part of the trip had been quiet. Yennefer had maintained a much slower pace than they both would have liked —if they wanted to come back before anyone realized they had left— but it was the best and safest thing to do when everything was covered in snow and the ice was beginning to consolidate on the roads. The first few minutes of travel were somewhat awkward, but Yennefer seemed to have a natural ability to create conversations out of nowhere and, if Tissaia was honest, she loved to hear her talking about anything.

The fact that the principal pretended not to have any kind of feelings or emotions for the teacher did not imply that they were actually non-existent. There were only three people who had been told about it over the past and a half year —the three who were leading the betting pool, because obviously Nenneke was involved in all that business— but they all knew how bad an idea it was to pressure Tissaia to do or say something she wasn't prepared for. However, when the chestnut had found herself kissing Yennefer's cheek that same morning —something she had done impulsively and inadvertently until it was too late, but that she couldn't say she regretted— the truth was that a quick excursion to Gors Velen in the brunette's company didn't seem such a bad idea and it did its work to quell her fear of having to cancel Yule's Ball. Sooner rather than later, the trivial issues ran out and Yennefer glanced quickly at the woman who sat beside her to look at Tissaia’s beautiful —perfect, if she was asked— face.

"And what awaits you so urgently in the city?" Yennefer forced herself to sound neutral and carefree, to play it cool.

The chestnut, however, took a while to answer, preferring to look out the window for a moment before doing so.

"The lumberjacks that were supposed to bring the log for Yule did not dare to drive on these roads".

"Oh, good," whispered the brunette, silently blessing all known gods.

"I'm not sure that having to go to town because of the snow is something to rejoice in, Yennefer," Tissaia looked ahead with a frown.

"No, it's not that... It's just... I thought it was a person," Yennefer recognized with guilty mutter, "that is, you would have some kind of date with someone. A person, human, from outside, who is not in Aretuza... I didn't think Yule was that important to you".

"Why would I want to date a person from outside Aretuza?" Tissaia looked at her, confused, and mentally begging that the woman didn’t understand she was indirectly saying she would date someone from the school.

"I... I don't know, actually, sorry," the brunette swallowed.

After that, neither woman said anything else, not even when Yennefer parked the car at the first free spot she found. The drive had taken them an entire hour, so they didn't have time to waste. Tissaia got out of the car and waited until the brunette did the same, ignoring her confused expression for Yennefer hadn’t thought the headmistress would want her to go with her. Making sure Yennefer followed her, the chestnut walked to a small carpenter’s shop across the street; their pace was fast, for it had begun to snow again. Tissaia stopped at the door, opening it and waiting until Yennefer entered first, to follow her inside the store.

In different display cases and shelves there were carvings, furniture, ornaments and all kinds of things made with wood. The technique was impeccable and all the objects on display were precious, even for the brunette, who was not used to appreciate that type of ornaments.

"Good morning... Miss De Vries!" A man a little older than Tissaia, with dark skin and a gray beard, sketched a broad smile from across the counter.

Next to the man's body, a small, blonde head peeked over the edge of the counter, accompanied by two small hands seeking to stand on the surface. This head was accompanied by huge blue eyes that opened and lit up when, after a quick scan of the room, they found the two women who had just entered and approached the counter. That time was enough for the little girl, no more than five years old, to climb up to the counter, stand up and decide to jump forward with a curious war cry.

"Aunt Tiiiiiiiii!" The man didn't have a chance to hold the girl in time to keep her from jumping, but Tissaia moved much faster than either of the other two people, capturing the kid in her arms and spinning on herself with her hugged.

"How's my beautiful suicidal cub?" Tissaia questioned, rolling her eyes.

"Flying!" The girl wrapped both arms around the woman's neck, taking advantage of her new position to look at Yennefer, "are you two girrrrl-friends? Kiss now!"

Tissaia's eyes widened and she got very close to drop the girl due to the shock her question and words inflicted on her. However, neither she nor Yennefer had a chance to respond, for the laughter of a woman who had been listening from the frame of the backroom door —since she had heard the door— would silence any words they tried to offer to argue such a thing.

"I'd better get on with the inventory," said the man who had greeted Tissaia at first.

"Have a good day Mousesack," Tissaia muttered, then looked at Ciri, "and no, honey, she's just a co-worker".

"Pity... She’s petty," The girl dramatically sighed with drama.

"She’s pretty, love, though I think that petty suits her too," Tissaia corrected, keeping her voice soft.

"Hey!" Yennefer pouted and Ciri wallowed until she got the headmistress to let go.

The girl ran to Yennefer and stretching her little arms, begging the adult to take her, "hello! My name is Ciri! What’s yours! You won’t kiss, then?" The girl wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck once she caught her, approaching her ear to whisper, " you wanna be my auntie's girrrrrl-friend?"

Yennefer's cheeks were stained with an intense red hue, so she avoided the gaze of anyone present in the room, while whispering a "yes" on the child ear, so nobody else would listen to her, "keep it secret, okay?" Added Yennefer, smiling at the girl when she nodded vigorously, "my name is Yennefer, delighted to meet you, flying princess".

That joke made the girl, who found Yennefer's arms too comfortable to want to move from them, laugh and shook her head.

"I’m no princess, I’m a lioness and I’m very very scary".

"I see you have a lot to tell me about," Calanthe smiled and approached Tissaia to surround her with one arm, "but what are you doing here on a Wednesday at eleven in the morning, if I may know?"

"The lumberjacks didn't want to go all the way to Aretuza to take the log for the ritual, so we came looking for it," hearing those words, the dark-haired woman nodded and left a kiss on Tissaia's forehead.

"They must have left it in the backroom this morning, then, I'm going to ask Eist and see if he knows something," Calanthe approached Yennefer, and looked at her from top to bottom, before addressing Ciri, "make sure there are no kisses or anything while I'm gone".

"Yes, captain," Ciri took a hand to her forehead, in a clumsy imitation of greeting, and left it there until Calanthe disappeared into the backroom.

With a sigh, Tissaia approached Yennefer, her gaze low and her cheeks red.

"The idiot is my older sister, Calanthe," Tissaia took Ciri when the girl reached out in her direction and then left a kiss on her cheek, "please, ignore everything she says… And ignore whatever this little cub has told you, too".

"I am no little, you’re just too big," Ciri stated with a pout, making Yennefer laugh, for it was amusing that someone could think Tissaia was big —she was great, yes, but pretty short—, and the chestnut just glared at her before kissing several times the face of the girl, until she stopped the pout.

"Don't worry, you'd have to see Sabrina with any of my partners," Yennefer said, once the laughter stopped, "I mean, it's not like we're a couple, nor partners, nor anything like that, I would never dare... "

"Don’t you have a partner?" Tissaia raised an eyebrow, understanding something very different from what the young woman had meant to say. Suddenly, Ciri raised her head with worry.

"No, it’s been a while since the last one..."

With a relieved sigh, Ciri rested her head against Tissaia’s chest again.

"I thought you were with that boy, what was his name?" Tissaia frowned, unable to remember the name of her former student.

"Istredd? Tissaia, it's been over ten years since I broke up with him..." The brunette shook her head several times. I don't even know how could I stand him for a whole month, I have other preferences related to who I date".

In fact, the only reason she had agreed to accompany Istredd to Yule's Ball in her last year of class in Aretuza, as a student, had been because the first person she had asked to come with her had rejected her. And she was totally decided to ask that very same person to go with her, crossing all her fingers so she’d finally say yes… She was a grown up now, she couldn’t just say no.

" Oh... I thought after the ball..."

"Ugh, no... Though I can't blame you, I spent years thinking that you were with Vilgefortz and that you had a shitty taste on partners," Yennefer laughed at the disgusted expression of her boss, "what? There are still students who think so, don't blame me".

"If that sewer rat stays closer than a meter from my little sister, you have my permission to skin him alive," Calanthe approached them, carrying a log at least a meter long and a half wide, her expression suddenly serious.

"Do you have a rat at school? Is it ugly?" Ciri looked at them in amazement.

"Yes, a very ugly and dangerous one," Calanthe nodded, causing Yennefer to raise both eyebrows, with a silent question. "Oh, Tissaia's a lesbian and the idiotic guy doesn't want to understand it, he's been trying to flirt with her for over twenty years, and not even a punch in the nose and a kick in the crotch have been enough to make him leave her alone… Believe me, I’ve tried and the fucker is still there".

"Calanthe, don’t swear when the girl’s present, for the goddess," Tissaia sighed, covering Ciri’s mouth with a finger when she saw her intentions to repeat only the swearing parts of her grandmother’s speech. "At least he doesn't insist on walking me to my room anymore," Tissaia muttered then.

"That man is really sick," Yennefer realized, not surprised at all. While she had always despited Vilgefortz for trying to flirt with Tissaia, knowing that he was rather harassing her caused her feelings to be rather hateful… He even looked like a good guy.

"Be that as it may, that's not important, we have to go back to Aretuza before Vanielle and Nenneke find out we're gone," Tissaia snorted, crouching down to leave Ciri on the ground, who seemed to have no intention of letting go of her clothes, clinging with all her strength as if her life depended on it. Tissaia softened and knelt on the floor, her voice smooth and lovely, "hey, little cub, I have to leave before nana knows I've escaped… You don’t want the great sorceress of this continent to get punished by nana, do you?"

"Have you escaped from Atusa? Is nana going to be angy? Can I go with you? I miss you".

"Yes, I have, so I have to run back, because she is going to be very very angry. I promise to call you every night until I can come to see you again, is that a good deal?" Apparently, it was, for it was enough for Ciri to finally let her go and stand on the floor with a pout. The girl kissed Tissaia’s cheek and ran to her grandmother.

"Call me. And be care-full. And kiss Yefer," the girl hugged her grandmother’s leg, in the blink of tears.

"I promise, love".

"You'd better hurry, because if nana and Vanielle find out you've done it, no place is going to be safe enough for you," Calanthe bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to laugh, "Need me to take it to the car?"

"I'll take it, don't worry," Yennefer approached and extended her arms for Calanthe to give her the log.

Once Yennefer got the log, Tissaia kissed Calanthe on the cheek and left one last kiss on Ciri's forehead, briefly saying goodbye to both before opening the door to the other teacher and walking with her back to the car. Yennefer didn’t comment on anything that was said or that happened within the store; she knew Tissaia never spoke about her life, so if she wanted to add anything else to what Yennefer had seen, she’d need some time. The log ended up in the trunk and the two women set off before it started snowing again, but they hadn't even left Gors Velen before the first snowflakes started falling, after about an hour without doing so. Vanielle was right and the weather was going to get worse.

Despite the falling snow, they both trusted to be able to return to Aretuza before time got even worse. However, they were still halfway back to school when the storm intensified and snowflakes were swept away by the wind, making their vision too difficult. It wasn’t very safe or smart to keep advancing.

"You should pull over the car, Yenna, we can't keep driving with all the snow out there, it's impossible to see past five centimeters," Tissaia turned into her seat to look at the brunette, worried.

"Just because the meanest part of Zeus' cold heart came to say a hearty 'fuck you' to The Continent, it doesn't mean we can't make it, Tissaia," Yennefer didn't even look at the woman as she said that, though by her expression it was clear that, as much as she hated recognizing it, she knew the headmistress was right; she was just so annoyed at the weather for screwing up her only chance with the woman.

"We won't be able to go on like this, sooner or later we'll end up getting off the road," the chestnut took a hand to the one Yennefer had placed on the gear lever, "please, there's a house nearby, pull over the car".

With a dramatic sigh, Yennefer eventually nodded and left the road to stop the car in one of the sides; surely no one would go down the road, but it would be best to prevent, just in case. Tissaia gave a gentle squeeze to the brunette's hand, before letting her go and loosen her belt, then getting out of the car. Yennefer frowned, not very sure, but chose to do the same. Neither of them wore the right kind of coat to withstand a blizzard like that, so the first thing the two women did was to hug their own bodies in search of conserving the few calories they had, as the fabric got wet with every new snowflake that fell on them.

Tissaia surrounded the car, once she had a vague idea of where they were, and stood next to the teacher. Both looked into each other's eyes for a moment, but Yennefer was forced to look away, too tempted to remove all the snowflakes that were falling on the director's face with every passing second. However, Tissaia placed a hand on her arm to get her attention and say something that sounded like "follow me," Yennefer, however, did not want to let go of the chestnut hand, so when she began to remove it from her arm, the younger woman hurried to catch it with her own hand. The headmistress, however, merely squeezed Yennefer's warm hand between her cold fingers and started to walk, guiding her through the storm.

If the brunette was honest, she could not even imagine how it was possible that Tissaia was orienting herself in the middle of that _Northern Big Boi,_ for with every step they took, the snow was higher, her legs colder and her ability to continue advancing smaller. After ten minutes of walking in the middle of the snow, Yennefer began to stick to the other woman's body, looking for any kind of heat that might come out of it; she was cold enough to her manners to begin to be less and less important, all she cared about was getting as warm as she could and, surely, Tissaia was thinking exactly the same thing when she let go of her hand, only to surround Yennefer's body with one of her arms, passing it by her waist. And of course —just so as not to lose heat— the young woman rounded Tissaia's shoulders and pressed her against her own body. Thinking they were going to freeze to death counted as an excuse to kiss someone? It wasn't that she was thinking of doing it right now or anything like that, but would the headmistress’ lips get some color back if she did exactly that? She was too pale, and they had been walking for about a quarter of an hour, the cold increasing and more difficult to bear now that they were both wet and chilled to the bone.

"T-tis-ssaia," the brunette wanted to ask her if they had got lost, but her jaw was shaking too much to do so, so she merely looked at her and narrowed her tighter against herself. She was starting to think that they wouldn’t find the building they needed to get inside, since it was snowing too hard to be able to do so.

"Al-m-most t-there," the woman managed to say, understanding what the other meant, though she didn't even try to raise a hand to point out the house that she couldn't see, but that she knew was a few meters ahead.

Five more minutes and Yennefer could see the shadow in front of her eyes, although the house should not be more than five meters from them. The wind was getting more intense and it seemed willing to take either of them with it, but Tissaia wouldn't let her go, pulling her straight into the door. For a moment, Yennefer considered the possibility of the headmistress flying out, as small as she was, but considering the way she clung to her, it seemed rather unlikely.

Yennefer reached out to the door, when they stood in front of it, and she tried to open it, frowning when she discovered it was closed. Of course it was closed, why would anyone leave it open? That was a stupid idea, especially considering that the manor wasn't exactly small. The brunette looked at Tissaia, clearly concerned about the welfare of they both, but the chestnut merely separated from her, took a step forward and tried to open the door on her own; to the teacher's surprise, the woman did manage to open it. With a small smile, Tissaia returned to Yennefer's and took her arm to drag her inside the house, seeing that she was not moving from the entrance, but she did not even try to say anything when the door closed behind them. The two women were shaking, soaked and cold dead, so no one could blame them that their first thought was to close the distance between the two and stick their bodies, hoping to keep as much heat as possible that way. Because that was the only reason for the hug, wasn't it?

Tissaia buried her face on the brunette's shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to produce a coherent phrase, but without achieving it.

"I c-can't believe we s-s-sneaked into someone'ssss house," Yennefer struggle to mutter. The chestnut frowned, but she couldn't control her jaw enough to speak like a normal person, "d-do you think t-they'll have blan-k-kets?"

The headmistress nodded, but that was all for at least five minutes, while they didn’t move.

"If t-this were m-my house, I'd ha-v-ve a closet with b-blan-k-kets in the living room f-for this," the woman finally said, getting a little growl in response.

Despite agreeing in the fact that they needed dry clothes, Yennefer could not help but complain about the loss of contact between her body and Tissaia's, when the woman decided that they should go and get those blankets. The principal had picked up the brunette's hand again, so she had no choice but to follow her to the living room, without stopping to think about how the woman could know exactly where the living room was. Probably she just knew the owner, she had been in Aretuza for as long as Yennefer knew.

"I'm going to light the chimney," Tissaia announced, pointing to a closet later, "take the blankets."

Yennefer nodded, though when the headmistress finally let her go, she could only stare at her own hand, frowning and much colder than she felt before. It took her at least half a minute to react again, walking to a closet and pulling out of it all the blankets she found. Then she walked back to the woman with all of them. Tissaia had knelt in front of the fireplace and her shaky hands were finding it difficult to light the fire, but finally, when she managed to light the first piece of wood, she made sure that it did not go out under any circumstances, bringing her hands as close as possible without burning them. The fire felt nice against her skin and even if she did not manage to stop shaking, at least she was regaining some sensibility on her body.

Yennefer left the blankets on the floor and took one to place it on the other woman's shoulders, kneeling beside her. Tissaia, however, instead of snuggling under the blanket, took one end with her hand and then raised it to surround the brunette's shoulders with her arm and try to cover her up as well.

"We s-should take off our wet c-clothesss," whispered the chestnut, staring at the teacher, "we w-won't g-get hot with t-them on".

"Do you want us to get hot without clothes?" Yennefer turned her head to look at her, completely blushing and thinking of something completely different from what her boss had probably meant.

"Yes, I d-don't want to die of hypothermia, Yenna," Tissaia rolled her eyes and started taking off her coat.

The brunette stared at the headmistress with her eyes wide open, but began copying what she was doing, until all they had left was their underwear, which wasn’t wet for now. The rest of the garments ended up in a pile of wet clothing and, although the two were now sitting on the floor and surrounded by two or three blankets, their bodies were still glued against each other. The chimney fire had been growing over the minutes and now it was a great source of heat, but also a wonderful lighting in the rising darkness that the storm was leaving behind. In the eyes of the brunette, the way the fire illuminated Tissaia's sharp features or how it danced in the blue light of her eyes, making them more mysterious and fascinating, was such an extremely perfect image that she almost wished she never had to stop looking at her. But even so, it was impossible for Yennefer to ignore how cold Tissaia's skin was, even if now, between the fire, the blankets and the contact between the two, she should be starting to warm up. Something wasn't right. Tissaia kept shaking and her eyes seemed increasingly tired. Didn’t people just get sleepy with hypothermia? Was Tissaia dying? Would a love kiss work on real life?

"Tissaia, you're still frozen," the woman leaned toward the elder, trying to give her a little more heat, "you’re not going to die in my arms, right?"

"I suck at keeping myself hot," she acknowledged, without looking at Yennefer. However, from one moment to the next, the headmistress moved from not feeling her body to feeling absolutely every single part where the brunette's body stuck to it, especially when Yennefer's bra was not enough to prevent Tissaia from realizing that the other woman —who had sat behind her and surrounded her with her arms , placing her between her legs—, was still cold, "w-what are y-you doing? "

"Sharing my body heat," one that felt more and more intense now, as Yennefer was almost certain that he could die from spontaneous combustion at that moment, but she needed to say one more thing, "you don’t need to worry, I’m a gentlewoman, I won’t take advantage of you," the decision seemed to be the right one, as in a matter of a couple of minutes Tissaia seemed to recover some temperature little by little.

"Maybe we should take a hot shower or something," Tissaia murmured, looking at the fire and noticing how intense was its heat now… Because it had to be it.

"Right now, I'd prefer a cold shower," Yennefer confessed, earning a gentle laugh from the woman. "Wow, I didn't know you had a sense of humor when you freeze, I'm going to have to take you out and get lost with you in the middle of a storm more often".

Tissaia laughed again, relaxing in the woman's arms.

"I'd rather not have to be about to die for you to take me out… I mean, I don’t want to be close to death again this year".

"Again?" Yennefer rested her head on her shoulder, curious.

"A joke got out of some students' hands at the beginning of the year," she explained, "that day I would have fallen down the stairs if you hadn't caught me".

"Are you serious?" Yennefer was clearly worried now, because they were the first news she had about it, "I thought you were nervous to see me, and that's why you lost your balance, I didn't realize that..."

That may, or may be not, one of the reasons that helped the situation to get out of the students hands.

"You saved me," the chestnut smiled softly and closed her eyes. Between the heat and the presence of the other woman, she felt much more relaxed than she had been in years, "even if it was unintentionally and you’d rather let me fall".

"I would never let you fall," she whispered with a thread of voice, before she stopped to think it twice.

Surprised by her words, Tissaia turned enough to be able to look the other woman in the eye just by turning her head to one side; consequently, Yennefer tilted her head forward, her eyes fixed on the blue orbs.

"Why?" The headmistress whispered softly, her lips practically rubbing the woman’s, the warmth of her breath caressed the face of the younger one, who could not avoid looking at her lips.

Yennefer, unable to answer, closed her eyes, intending to close any distance that still separated them. However, she did not have the opportunity to press her lips to Tissaia's, as a phone began to ring, startling them both. Tissaia turned away almost instantly, as if Yennefer had just turned into a fiery iron and, to tell the truth, the brunette felt like such, her cheeks were red and her whole body was expelling a lot of heat. Both rummaged through the pile of clothes until they found their own devices, but it was Tissaia's which was ringing.

"It's Vanielle," the chestnut murmured, not knowing what to do.

"Pick it up, I'm sure she’s worried," the young woman frowned, "she probably already knows we are gone".

"Could you do it?" Tissaia was more than nervous at the time, still having difficulty believing how close she had been to doing something as extremely stupid as kissing the brunette. If she had to talk to Vanielle now, she'd probably say nonsenses, and that if she could get to talk.

"I... Alright," Yennefer took the mobile and a deep breath, realizing that Tissaia and she were breathing heavily, before picking up.

"Tissaia de Vries where the hell are you!? You better not have left Aretuza or I’ll kill you! Are you out of your mind?! Why didn't you answer my messages?! You just needed to text me back!" Vanielle didn't give the brunette a chance to speak, so Yennefer waited for her to stop talking to do so, separating the phone from her ear a little so she wouldn't get deaf after that conversation. "Are you aware of how stupid it is to leave the building with the blizzard? You can't even see it a meter away! What's wrong with your head? Did you fell this morning when you saw Yennefer or what? And don't tell me you're not gone because you're clearly not here! The fucking ball isn't that important! You didn't have to go! You're an idiot! You could be death! Do you know how worried I was? I could have had a heart attack! I’m giving your cookies to nana! I hate you!"

At Tissaia's confused gaze, given Yennefer's prolonged silence, the young woman smiled slightly. She had a hard time believing that someone had the courage to talk to the headmistress like that, but it was entertaining, at the very least.

"Vanielle wants you to know that you're out of your mind, that you should have texted her, that you're an idiot, that she could have died of a heart attack, that she’s given your cookies to someone called nana, that she hates you and..." Yennefer stopped when Vanielle suddenly fell silent, she had completely not skipped the part about Tissaia falling for her, "uh, I think that's it".

"Yennefer?!" With that cry of Vanielle, the young woman had to put the phone back out of her ear, "what are you doing with Tissaia's mobile? Where's Tissaia? Is she ok? Is she with you? What were you doing? Please tell me I interrupted something".

"Hey... Well, you'll see... I'm sure if I tell you what we are doing it's going to sound awfully bad and it's none of that, so..." Yennefer looked at Tissaia, not knowing what to say and deciding to lean forward to take the woman’s pulse, taking two of her fingers to her carotid. She could feel how Tissaia’s blood pressure quickened instantly, "and... Yes, Tissaia has a pulse and she’s hot, so she's okay, she's with me, don't worry," Yennefer didn't withdraw her hand, leaving it to rest on the chestnut's neck and feeling all the muscles straining by her touch. Tissaia was definitely hot right now, but she wasn’t willing to comment on it.

"You can't just tell me that, what happened? Where are you? Give me Tiss".

Yennefer offered the phone to Tissaia, who widened her eyes, panicking and taking several seconds to decide to pick it up.

"Mhm?"

"Mhm? Do you think mhm is an apology? Do you think it's normal to let me yell at your future wife? Have you kissed yet? Were you about to have sex? Where are you?"

"It's not my fault you yell for everything," the chestnut complained, "and it’s not like that, we weren't doing any of what you just said, and we're halfway there," the woman took a deep breath, "we're fine, I've made Yennefer stop halfway there, and we're in the house. We will wait for the storm to calm down before leaving and trying to return to Aretuza," Tissaia's eyes closed when the tips of Yennefer's fingers began to ghost some caress on the pale skin on his neck, "and I love you so much, I am sorry for upsetting you. I promise I’ll make it up".

"I'm going to kill you as soon as I see you," the brunette snorted, "be very careful, and don't even think about leaving until time improves, I love you. You just pin her against something for once".

"What?! No..."

But Vanielle had already hung up.

"Is everything alright?" Yennefer moved her hand to the back of the woman's neck and gently pulled her to make her come close again, causing Tissaia to end up kneeling in front of her, having to rest a hand on the ground, next to Yennefer's leg to maintain balance, though she had not all the control she’d like.

"Yes, of course," the chestnut swallowed, nervous at the closeness between the two of them, "why shouldn't it be?"

"Vanielle seemed furious," Yennefer whispered, her eyes descending to the headmistress’ lips again.

"She was just worried, and she had reasons to," Tissaia held her breath, hypnotized by the closeness between the two and how the fire made the violet on Yennefer’s eyes seem dangerous and inviting, "but I think she partly knew I'd find a way to go for the log anyway".

"Why is the log so important to you?" Yennefer leaned a little forward, until her forehead ended up leaning against Tissaia’s

"The log is important to Yule and to the ball, not to me," she corrected, her eyes now glued on the other woman lips.

"Why is the ball important to you?"

"Don't you know the legend of Aretuza?" Surprised, Tissaia leaned back, looking for violet eyes. When Yennefer shook her head, disappointed, the headmistress approached her again and repositioned the blanket around both, sitting next to her, she thought everyone would know about the legend.

"I never paid attention in your classes," and she had reasons, "tell me," the young woman asked, as her arm passed over Tissaia's shoulders to press her again against her.

"Every year, during Yule, soulmates tend to be drawn more strongly than the rest of the time, in the whole Continent, but it’s in Gors Velen where it is most noticeable, especially in Aretuza. There are two versions of the legend, one says that Aphrodite noticed the academy because of how beautiful it was for her the Yule Ball that was held there, the other says that Yule's Ball is held in honor of the goddess, who had always favored the school for it was one of her shelters... But that's the only difference," Tissaia huddled in Yennefer's arms, enjoying the warmth that Yennefer provided, "what really matters is that when Yule's log is lit during the day before the ball and for the three days that the log remains burning, any first kiss that two soulmates give to their partner, will be consecrated in the eyes of the goddess and will be marked by her as a pure union that guarantees good fortune and happiness for the couple. They both earn their favor for as long as they live".

"Wow, how is it possible that there's a legend like that and I had no idea about it? Is that why you thought Istredd and I were together?"

"I guess you were never very good at paying attention," Tissaia joked, making Yennefer roll her eyes, "but yes, that's why I thought so".

"Oh, then you don’t need to worry. When he kissed me, I was about to throw up in his face, I had drunk too much… I mean, obviously we didn’t sneak alcohol, definitely nop, " the brunette kept quiet, after saying that, "so… That why it's so important to you? Because you want to find your soulmate and be happy with her?"

"No... I don't think anyone has the misfortune to be my soulmate," Tissaia softly shook her head, smiling with some bitterness. She didn’t deserve to have a soulmate, anyway, "but if I can do anything to ensure that at least one of my students or co-workers find theirs, I will do everything I can to do it. In fact, I remember Vanielle spent months trying to prevent Keira from kissing her just so she could do it during the Yule ritual," the woman's face lit up with the memory.

"Wait, you know they're together?"

"Vanielle is my best friend, Yenna, I know even what kind of sex they have," that comment made both women laugh. "But yeah, they also live in the same room. One way or another, I don't care if everyone on the staff has sex, as long as you're all happy, Stregobor doesn’t find out and it doesn't interfere with your work".

"Does that mean I can ask you to be my date for the ball?"

Violet eyes shone with hope, so Tissaia could not have refused even if she had wanted to. It was almost impossible to contain herself and not kiss Yennefer; it was extremely inappropriate and she knew the young woman was just being nice and helping her warm up, that was all.

"I suppose... I can't think of any reason to refuse right now," Tissaia confessed, "you've seen me at my worst".

"You mean angry and stabbing Stregobor? About to fall down the stairs? Frozen? Almost naked in my arms?" Yennefer teased.

"And being soft with Ciri," added Tissaia, though the brunnette didn’t think it was a bad thing, "all you have left to do is to see me crying," Tissaia shook her head, embarrassed.

Yennefer, meanwhile, was adding another kind of situation to the equation, more related to being naked and in her arms. She just didn’t put words on the mental image that made her even warmer.

"And how can I know if two people are soulmates according to this legend?" Yennefer could not believe how obtuse she had just been, but she hastened to find an excuse, "that is, to be aware of our students and things and stuff and… Yep."

In silence, Tissaia took the woman’s left hand and turned it to expose her forearm so that both could see it. The principal's fingers gently ran through the scar that crossed the skin, stopping at her wrist with such softness that Yennefer had to hold a goosebump.

"The legend says that the first time you look your soulmate in the eyes during the ritual, one of Athena's white owls will drop a feather next to the couple to give them knowledge, but also to bestow her blessing," Tissaia's voice was soft and Yennefer was finding it difficult to keep breathing normally now that the headmistress’ fingers seemed to burn her skin when they touched it, "then when the couple have their first kiss, the tattoo of a rose would appear on their wrists, showing Aphrodite's blessing and confirming that they have found the person they are destined to".

"I will have to look at feathers, then," Yennefer whispered, closing her eyes to try to contain the sudden need to kiss Tissaia. No matter how eager she was, if there was a small possibility of she being her soulmate, she needed to wait until the ritual, so she could have the goddess blessing; though, if Tissaia was not, Destiny could go fuck itself because she didn’t want anyone else. Anyway, she was too curious and, perhaps, if a feather appeared, she would convince Tissaia to accept that she was really interested in flirting with her.

"I suppose," Tissaia nodded, "now that we've warmed up, I think we should get dressed and eat something".

"The clothes are still soaked," the brunette frowned, "would it be okay to steal food?"

"Cal won't mind if you wear her clothes, after all, I don’t think mine would fit you," Tissaia stood up and took one of the blankets to wrap herself in, "and we are not stealing anything," Tissaia rolled her eyes and offered a hand to the woman, "come on."

Confused by her words, Yennefer got up and followed Tissaia around the house, still not understanding what she meant.

"Cal's clothes?"

"Yenna, do you really think I forced the lock in less than a minute? Or that I knew where the blankets were by any chance?" When the brunette nodded to Tissaia's questions, the chestnut let out a brief laugh and began to climb the main staircase. "Dear, this is my house... Well, mine and Calanthe’s, but I only spend summers here and she lives all year round in the town," she explained, taking Yennefer to one of the bathrooms and stopping at the door, "you can take a hot shower if you want, I'll bring you the clothes right away... Why are you looking at me with that face?"

"It’s just... I didn't expect this to be your house," confessed the brunette, "yo-- it's awesome".

"Haven't you really seen any of the pictures in the house?"

"No, I was too busy looking at you," the words left Yennefer's mouth so easily that only when she saw Tissaia blushing, surprised and holding a smile, she realized she had said it aloud, "I think I'm going to take that shower, see you latter".

Yennefer moved to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, silently cursing herself for being such an idiot. How could she be behaving like the idiotic and very in love with her teacher teenager she once was? At least when Tissaia took her clothes, or when the two met more than half an hour later in the hallway, the principal made no comment about it. Now that Yennefer looked at the hallways and furniture, there were pictures of Calanthe, Ciri, a man she didn't know, Tissaia and even Vanielle, Nenneke and Rita everywhere. She had been honest when she had said she had been too busy looking at Tissaia for the two hours they had spent trying to warm up, to realize that there really were so many clues that the house was hers that it was logic for her to consider unnecessary to comment on it.

The rest of the day was spent with both women trying to keep at least a meter away from each other, talking about safe and neutral topics that could not end up in compromised situations like the ones that had been taking place since they had begun to approach the house and, above all, since they had entered it. If it hadn’t been for Yennefer having no proof that the legend Tissaia had told her was real or that the headmistress could be her soulmate —something she'd been dreaming about for years, if she was honest— she'd start to think that everything she'd told her was true and that there was really something constantly appealing to them and forcing them to end up too close for comfort, no matter how eager they both were to be even closer. At least, they managed to stay away and their interaction was greatly reduced throughout the day, when they both found a way to stay busy and distracted. Of course, Yennefer would deny she’d spent almost an hour looking at photos of Tissaia with her family and friends... Well, an hour looking at pictures of Tissaia and another looking at pictures of her with the rest. It wasn’t her fault if the woman had given her permission to walk around the place. She had to entertain herself in some way and she didn't want to bother Tissaia —who had decided it was a good time to start doing paperwork— too much either. If Yennefer didn’t know the woman better, she'd think he was trying to ignore her.

After lunch, they both checked how the weather was outside and the blizzard had calmed down a little, so they would return to the car and Aretuza. It wouldn't do them any good to have risked their trip to Gors Velen if they couldn't get back to the academy in time, and there wasn't as much food in the house during that time of year to stay there for too long. Fortunately, their clothes were now dry thanks to the fire and the storm had calmed down enough for them both to be able to go back to the car and drive back to Aretuza, even if that meant several enraged women would receive them with open arms and clenched fists.


	3. Chapter 3

"So you haven't slept with Tissaia?" Sabrina was very curious about it. She and Triss were sitting on Yennefer's bed, watching her walk back and forth in the room, restless.

"Of course not! By the goddess, I haven't even managed to kiss her, though I was close to doing it several times," the brunette didn't stop to look at them, "but since we talked about the ball she's kind of distant and I don't know what I could have done to annoy her".

"Not to kiss her, for example," Sabrina snorted, that reason made her lost her bet.

"Maybe she just panicked because she wasn’t ready to be naked with you… You make a beautiful couple, just don’t give up," Triss smiled broadly.

"We're not a couple, Triss. I'm not even sure if she likes me".

The chestnut rose from bed and approached her friend to take her hands and force her to stop. When Yennefer stood still, Triss's hands moved to her cheeks, causing her to look up from the ground to her blue orbs, while she was smiling with love and tenderness as she always did.

"Yen," despite the softness of her voice, Triss's words were serious, "Tissaia de Vries is not the kind of woman who lets herself be hugged by random people, let alone being almost naked... Or do you really think she would have let anyone hug her in front of her fireplace like in a romantic novel, while looking at your eyes and being suuuuuper close to kiss?"

"No?" Yennefer ventured, getting Sabrina to throw a cushion at her.

"Of course not, you bloody asshole".

Triss glared at her girlfriend, so the brunette took the opportunity to look down again. The moment her eyes briefly stopped on her friend's wrist, Yennefer grabbed her hand in a rapid motion and turned it so she could better observe the black rose she had tattooed on her caramel skin. She had always thought that Triss had tattooed a rose due to her love for plants, but now that she knew about the legend that Tissaia had told her about, and now that she stopped to think twice... Hadn't she and Sabrina started dating after Yule's Ball three years ago? Was it possible...? The possibility was remote, but she'd hate herself all her resting life if she didn't try.

"Maybe you're right," Yennefer whispered, "so you'll have to help me choose a dress".

* * *

"I still can't believe you left when Nenneke and I explicitly told you not to," Vanielle kept walking around the room, her eyes never leaving the chestnut woman. She was still furious and she didn’t know if it was because her friend made it alive or because she could have not.

Rita had laid down on the bed and had her head resting on the headmistress lap, while doing her best to shy away from the brunette's furious gaze and enjoy the caresses Tissaia left in her hair. She had been worried and anxious too, but her anger was easier to calm —the wine and Tissaia playing with her hair made wonders with it—, so she just kept silent.

"Technically, you said it was stupid to do so because of superstition and tradition, so I made the trip because of the company… And I also wanted to see Cal and Ciri," she tried to justify herself, "oh, and Yennefer didn't lend me her car, she drove, so you can’t be mad at her… Please?"

"You didn't just do that," Rita whispered with a thread of voice, as she prayed internally and asked not to die in a crossfire, hiding her face against Tissaia’s leg.

"For fuck’s shake Tissaia!" The brunette fussed, frustrated.

"Maybe if you stop scolding me for ten minutes, I could tell you that although we did absolutely nothing and didn't even talk about it, I nearly kissed her several times," when Tissaia said that, Rita's eyes widened considerably as she turned her head to look at her and stuck in the blue orbs, a childish smile on her lips.

"Details, Tiss, details".

Before saying anything else, the headmistress looked at Vanielle, for it was not until the grumpy brunette resigned and sat on the bed next to her, that she began to speak. She knew she would need a very good story to quell her friends' anger and concern —even if Rita was calm, that didn't mean she didn't feel that way and that she wasn’t going to scold Tissaia one way or another—, so in addition to give them all sorts of details about every moment of the day next to the brunette, the headmistress also told them how Yennefer had reacted when she had seen some of Tissaia's photos as a child, when she had taken her to the small library of the house and when she had suggested that, if she wanted to, when the weather got a little better, she could take her to see the greenhouse. The latter provoked great emotion in the two women, for clearly that was a obvious date proposition and nothing Tissaia said would convince them otherwise.

After hearing the story and getting as much information out as possible, Rita and Vanielle began to ask her all sorts of questions about what she had felt all day long. Tissaia appreciated the enthusiasm the two women felt about their love life, but despite how fortunate they were —yes, Tissaia had seen the tattoos on their wrists, even though they were both trying to hide them, especially Rita who had always claimed to be a free soul— the woman was more than sure that she would never have a chance to find her soulmate and to think about receiving the blessing of the goddesses was just stupid. Still, she was fine like this. Tissaia had already come up with the idea that she would never find love and had decided to dedicate her life to Aretuza and her family, as long as she had the opportunity to do so. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy Yule's Ball, now that someone had asked her to be her date for that night. No, not date, just escort… Surely Yennefer had meant that. No one had talked about a real date. Why was I thinking about dates? No one was thinking about dates. Definitely not her... Shit.

One way or another, the best thing Tissaia could do in what was left of the day was to lock herself in her room and avoid Yennefer under any circumstances until the ball. The closer she was to the brunette, the harder she found it to think, and if there was anything Tissaia appreciated, it was her ability to think. So if she had to ask Jaskier, the cook, to take all the meals to her room, she would do it without blinking... The only reason Tissaia wanted to admit was that she was doing it to keep her brain operational, not for fear of kissing any brunette woman with violet eyes… She needed to stop thinking about kissing her. Or pinning her against walls... Damned Vanielle, now she couldn’t get that picture out of her head.

* * *

Yennefer was not the kind of person who paid attention to the school rituals or celebrations during the year, but, in her defense, she was now sure that Tissaia was deliberately ignoring her and she was unable to understand why. She could understand that maybe taking one of her employees home and hugging her naked body in front of the fireplace was rare, but she had agreed to go to the ball with her… So why deliberately avoid her all day long and even skipping breakfast that morning? It was obvious that the headmistress had hid in her room so as not to see her —a certain cook had told her that she had asked him to bring up all her meals since last night and that he had already taken the supper and breakfast there— so if the young woman's only chance to see Tissaia was when the headmistress came down to officially light Yule's log with the ashes of the previous year. Well, it was an opportunity she was not willing to waste.

Tissaia was already kneeling by the fireplace, lighting the ashes from the previous year's log when the brunette arrived and stood next to Triss. There were not many people present or at least not as much as Yennefer had expected to see; all the teachers were there, however, also Nenneke, Jaskier, Geralt, Vilgefortz, Stregobor, Fringilla and about six or seven students from different years. While Yennefer was not sure if they had come for the legend, it was nice to know that at least there was a time when everyone was more or less united. Surrounding the headmistress to see how she set fire to a log seemed like a pretty boring plan in general; so if when Tissaia picked up the log and put it on the burning coals of the fireplace, muttering some words that the brunette did not understand, Yennefer could only look at the way all her muscles tightened and relaxed with each movement, how her chest went up and down with each breath or how the tip of her tongue peeked between her lips when she spent a minute looking at the fire silently before getting up… No one could blame her, could they?

With her cheeks flushed and aware that she had to control her own breathing before she ratted it out, Yennefer decided to stare at the ground and think of anything other than Tissaia's curves or the urgent need to kiss her again. The headmistress, on the other hand, had not yet realized her presence, so she continued the ritual naturally, joining her two hands under her chest and directing a small smile to everyone.

"Fortunately, we have lit the log in time, so I wish you all the luck in the world and I trust that the light of the gods will always protect you and guide you home," even if, to her, home was not exactly a place. Tissaia devoted a quick glance to those present and tried to remain unexpressive to see the brunette among them.

The log would burn during that day, the day of the ball and the day after, so now each person was free to celebrate the rest of the festivities as they thought was better for them. However, Tissaia was sure that Yennefer was not there for the celebration, but since she wasn't looking at her and seemed determined to ignore her, she couldn't venture to figure out what the reason for her presence was, when every year —the previous two Yennefer had been working as a teacher and those who had spent as a student— she had preferred to skip that ritual and... Oh, shit, Tissaia had stared at Yennefer, quietly, in the middle of the big dining room. Fuck.

"That said, I expect to see you all at the ball, have a good day," with a little smile and before Rita or Philippa dared to make some kind of comment about how she had stared at Yennefer like an idiot, Tissaia turned on her own heels and headed towards one of the stairs, determined to flee to her room and hide again. What the hell was wrong with her lately?

In her escape attempt, Tissaia deliberately ignored Vanielle's incredulous gaze, Rita's mocking smile, and Nenneke's surprised expression, for sirling to think about such reactions would only cause all her mental barriers to crumble even faster than they were already doing… If she had some left at this point. Definitely, the sooner she got to her room, the safer she'd be and the less likely it would be that she ended up doing something stupid like kissing one of her employees in front of a bunch of students or saying something stupid she'd managed to keep to herself for just over a year. When a hand grabbed Tissaia's arm and pulled it to make her turn, ripping a small cry of surprise from her. Tissaia’s body ended up pinned against the wall, trapped between it and the anatomy of the person who had stopped her; the woman did not bother to hide her surprise, disappointment and panic when her eyes met Vilgefortz's and not Yennefer's.

Such was the confusion of Tissaia, that when the man's lips perched on her own and began to move, accompanied by his tongue in an invasive and unpleasant way, all she could do was stand still, pressing her own body against the wall in an attempt to plead with the stone to swallow it. Her body did not respond, all her muscles were tense and petrified, while her mind yelled at her and begged her to push him away and to flee before Vilgefortz interpreted her lack of response as an invitation and not as the panic attack it actually was. But she couldn’t react. The sound of voices getting closer to the part of the spiral stairs where they were, were the only thing that got Vilgefortz away from Tissaia long enough to disguise, a charming smile on his lips. If he expected Tissaia to do the same or to erase the horrified expression from her face in time so that when Vanielle, Lytta, Yennefer and Sheala arrived there and found them both, he couldn't be more wrong.

The four women stopped to find them, and they only needed to see Tissaia glued to the wall, her lipstick ruined and her hands pressed to her own body to hide their shaking, to get an idea of what had happened. Sheala raised both eyebrows, hoping Vilgefortz would say something, but the man merely smiled naturally and smugly. Tissaia, however, could only feel worse with every second that passed, especially when her eyes met Yennefer's for a brief instant, recovering with it the control of her own body. She couldn’t let her see like this, she couldn’t let anyone see her like this; so she ran upstairs as soon as she was able to react, not looking back. Her eyes were beginning to flood with tears, so it wouldn't do her any good to stay there and go through that humiliation. Maybe if nobody had seen that, she could have just pretended it never happened, but something told her they all knew what was going on.

Vanielle tried to make her way between Yennefer and Sheala to run after her friend, but the two women were blocking her passage —the stairs barely allowed two people at the same time, so it was a little tricky to pass between them— so she only had a chance to pass when Yennefer started moving forward. But Vanielle did not have the opportunity to run after Tissaia, for the next time she looked up, Yennefer stood next to Vilgefortz, her fist was closed and all her anger channeled through it in a rapid motion. None of the three women moved when the man screamed with surprise or leaned against the wall, trying to maintain balance, and took a hand to his face as his nose had begun to bleed. After that, Yennefer ran upstairs, before losing all control and hit him again. Vanielle was sure she would go after Tissaia, so she decided she was going to take care of that bastard.

"You're crazy!" Vilgefortz yelled and then looked at the other three women, "what the hell are you looking at? I should fucking suit her."

"We are looking at how you make a fool of yourself," Sheala tilted her head and shrunk her shoulders before walking up the stairs, "of course we've been seeing it for many years, but you are the only one who doesn’t realize".

"Not to mention how disgusting you are," Lytta added, following the brunette.

Vanielle, however, waited to be alone with Vilgefortz and approached him. Her expression was cold and indifferent, so the man doubted that she would offer her help, especially after what the other women had said.

"And you? What the hell do you want?"

Vanielle smiled and it was at that moment that Vilgefortz knew he had fucked up.

"You see," the woman grabbed him by the collar of the shirt with astonishing force, then, she pulled and then pushed him against the wall again, trusting to hit him good, "the next time you approach Tissaia, touch her, or dare even look at her, becoming a eunuch will be the least of your problems. Just in case you are some kind of twisted animal who has no brain to understand it, Tissaia is a lesbian. She doesn’t like you, she’s disgusted by you, and after this, you’d better run away because when I tell Calanthe and Nenneke about what you have done, you’ll wish to be dead," Vanielle lifted her knee in a sudden motion, making it hit Vilgefortz's crotch, she was sure that in all her past lives she would have enjoyed doing something like that to him as much as she was now. The man tried to fold in half, but she didn't let him. Her voice was ice cold, and the man was almost sure she was very close to be some kind of angry deity, "after winter I want you to be the fuck out of our school and poor unfortunate soul if you how dare to come back. Have I made myself clear?"

"Vanielle? What are you two doing up there?" Nenneke stood still, a couple of steps below them both and looking at them with confusion. Her eyes widened when she realized Vilgefortz was bleeding.

"We were just having a nice chat," Vanielle smiled colder than she would have liked in the presence of the old lady.

"It's nothing," Vilgefortz agreed, though he took the opportunity to push the woman back. He overlooked how Nenneke’s eyes darkened at the sight, but she didn’t comment on it.

"Sure..." The old lady shook her head, though she stopped when she saw something on the floor, something that she quickly crouched down to pick up, "what about this?"

Vilgefortz sketched a broad smile upon seeing the white feather in Nenneke's hand, proud of himself.

"Apparently you're going to have to go fuck yourself and swallow your words, bitch," the man whispered, reaching out to the old woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split chapter 4 because it was too long for the attempt of "short chapters", so I'll publish 2 tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Yennefer stopped in front of the door of Tissaia's room, furious and worried equally. With the knuckles of her right hand —she had used her left to hit Vilgefortz and it had become considerably inflamed— she knocked the wood gently, waiting for some kind of response from the other woman, but the only thing that received her was silence. Doubting how appropriate it was to enter the headmistress room without permission, Yennefer ended up deciding that she didn't care about the rules and the decorum, so she opened the door and entered the room, closing behind her.

A quick glance around was enough for her to quell her fury a little, for the decoration was simple, elegant and so typical of the woman that it almost reminded her of the house in which they had spent part of the day before. However, it was impossible to overlook the presence of a small body on the bed with its head buried under one of the pillows, it being the only disturbance in the perfect order of the room. With quiet steps, Yennefer approached the bed and took a seat next to Tissaia, not knowing what to say.

If she was honest, when she saw Tissaia's appearance and Vilgefortz's proud expression, all Yennefer had wanted to do was throw the man through one of Aretuza's top-floor windows and then drop a brick on him, to make sure he was dead. She had never seen Tissaia as affected as she had a few minutes ago, not even when she threw the letter opener at Stregobor’s head or when they were both close to freeze, so whatever Vilgefortz had done —and the brunette was almost certain it involved a kiss—, that sewer rat deserved to have a lot of bad things happening to him. But now that Yennefer was next to Tissaia, she was not at all sure that a brick would help, so she didn’t know what to do. Carefully and trying to be as gentle and respectful as possible, she placed her right hand on the woman’s back and left a gentle caress on it, stopping when the woman's shoulders began to shake under it, almost instantly.

"I’m sorry," whispered Yennefer, "do you want me to leave?" The young woman waited, but she got no answer.

Yennefer didn't want to overwhelm Tissaia, so she withdrew further on the bed and stood up again. She understood it was normal for the other woman to need a moment alone. However, before she could turn around to say goodbye, a hand caught her wrist and pulled it towards her with astonishing strength.

Tissaia's eyes were filled with tears and her wet cheeks showed that those were not the only or first ones; her jaw trembled and the grip of her hand on the young woman's wrist was getting weaker. Yennefer had ended up lying on her, one of her legs between Tissaia's and the other on one side, offering her minimal support not to crush the headmistress, just as Yennefer’s right hand did. Yennefer took her left hand to the chestnut’s cheek and removed the next tear that fell from her eyes, caressing her skin with extreme tenderness, a soft smile drawing on her lips.

"If you wanted me to get into your bed, all you had to do was ask me, Tissaia," Yennefer whispered, her eyes fixed on the blue orbs, and her whole body instantly relaxing when a little laugh left the other woman's lips.

"Don't go," she pleaded.

"Never," Yennefer left a new caress on the woman's cheek, surprised when Tissaia closed her eyes and tilted her head to press her cheek against the brunette's hand, "I suppose with this I have already seen you at your worst moments," feeling that Tissaia's body was tightening under her, the young woman slipped her thumb down the woman's cheekbone and shook her head, even if she couldn't see her, "and I must say that even in them you're still the most beautiful and perfect woman I've ever met".

Tissaia opened her eyes, though they were again flooded with tears. She could feel the color rise to her cheeks due to those words but she didn't know what to say, and even if she'd known, she wouldn't have been able to do so, not with the knot on her throat.

"You know, once, a teacher I had told me there was nothing more hideous than a bright woman crying," Yennefer smiled mockingly, "so I'm delighted because now I can tell that teacher she couldn't be more wrong… She can be a fucking genius, but she got that one wrong".

Tissaia gently struck Yennefer's shoulder, making her laugh as she herself tried not to smile.

"Worst of all, that teacher has been rejecting my courtship attempts for more than ten years, can you believe it?" Violet eyes were fixed on the blues again, her smile too soft for Tissaia’s heart, "so, I think I'll need advice to woo her".

Tissaia took her free hand to Yennefer's neck, caressing it with the her fingertips distractedly, while her other hand sought that of the brunette and intertwined her fingers with hers.

"And what kind of advice could someone like me give you?" Tissaia whispered, "I am not very experienced on courtship matters," against her brain shouting her not to, she let her eyes land on the other’s lips for a moment.

"You could tell me what flower to give her tomorrow, before the ball... Or if she'd like me to come pick her up at her bedroom door... " Eventually Yennefer's eyes also ended up fixed longer on Tissaia's lips than on her eyes.

"I don't think she needs any flowers, but if there's no choice, I’d say she likes white roses," the older woman moved her hand to the back of the teacher’s neck, tangling her fingers between the jet strands, "and she'd be delighted if you came to pick her up and to accompany you to the ball".

"Mhm, and do you think she'd mind if I stole a kiss from her?"

"I think she'd tell you that you can't steal something she’d gladly give you," Tissaia whispered, pressing her fingers on Yennefer's neck to make her lips end up rubbing again as she spoke, "and she'd appreciate it if you'd stop teasing her and do it at once".

Yennefer laughed against Tissaia's lips, moving as if she were going to kiss her but backing a little just before her lips came to meet at all.

"And why doesn't she kiss me instead? I was the one waiting ten years," the brunette took her index to the director's lower lip and reviewed it horribly slowly.

"Oh, for fuck's shake," Tissaia snorted and pulled the woman again, unable to kiss her —and considering to murder every living being on the world for a moment—, as the door opened loudly and they both startled.

"Tissaia! You're not going to believe what happened!" Vanielle had opened the door so hard that it had hit the wall and bounced, so it took a couple of seconds for her to process what her eyes were seeing.

Hearing the noise and their voice, both women had panicked, Yennefer much more than Tissaia, for she had jumped, lost her balance and fallen out of bed with a dull blow.

Vanielle stood still at the door looking at the two women and Nenneke poked her head over the brunette's shoulder to do the same, trying to hid an amused smile. Tissaia sat in bed, panicking, not knowing what to do or say while her hands moved restlessly on her own clothes, removing wrinkles from the fabric, and Yennefer rose from the ground, enough to sit, despite the pain of her hand and her ass; both of them had a quick breathing pattern, red cheeks and their pupils dilated enough for the color of their eyes to be almost non-existent, beyond the black of these. The awkward silence lasted about twenty seconds, until Nenneke raised both eyebrows and sketched a broad, mischievous smile.

"It's not what it looks like..." Tissaia whispered, looking at Yennefer without even knowing what it looked like.

"And what does it look like, dear?"

"We were just talking," the brunette said, nodding several times.

"Speaking on top of each other, in bed?" Vanielle tilted her head.

"Ah... Yes?" Tissaia frowned, feeling worse than some teenager whose parents had caught while having sex with her partner. Goddess, they hadn't even kissed, what need was there to go through something like this?

"And what does Yennefer do on the ground then? Wasn’t she topping you," Nenneke was having a hard time holding her laugh, proud of her words’ choice.

"I fell".

"She fell," repeated Tissaia.

Both nodded several times, only making the other two women laugh. Nenneke placed a hand on Vanielle's shoulder and moved her head back and forth.

"Then it would be best for us to go," Nenneke pulled softly from the younger woman, "so that you may speak of your things and keep topping each other".

"I was… I was already leaving," Yennefer looked at Tissaia, not knowing what to do, because she didn't really want to leave, but she didn’t want to create more troubles for the woman.

Tissaia looked her in the eye, doubting her answer, but ended up looking down without knowing what to say. Actually, she'd rather go through the corresponding interrogations and jokes than be left alone after what had happened a while before, but she didn't want to force Yennefer to do any of that, she didn’t deserve it.

"Or not, the truth is that the floor is very comfortable," she smiled broadly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She could say Tissaia didn’t want to get rid of her for now and she had promised not to leave her alone.

"In that case, you should get ice and put it in that hand," Vanielle pointed at Yennefer's limb with her chin before letting herself be dragged by Nenneke and closing the door behind both of them. "Shouldn't we have told them what happened?"

"They'll find out sooner or later, but you should keep Tissaia's feather," Nenneke sighed.

Meanwhile, Yennefer and Tissaia had not moved a single muscle, worried that both women would change their minds and break back into the room from one moment to the next.

"I don't think they're going to come back," Tissaia whispered, turning her head now to look at the brunette. She wasn't quite sure what subject to deal with next, so she got carried away by her first instinct: worrying about the young woman, "what did Vanielle mean about you needing ice?"

"Oh," Yennefer crossed her legs, and sat more comfortably on the floor, looking down to her left hand, which was a little swollen, "it's silly, it's just nonsense".

Given Yennefer's little collaboration, the headmistress had no choice but to approach and lean over the edge of the bed so she could look at her hand. Tissaia's face twisted into a worried grimace upon seeing the reddish color of the brunette's knuckles, as well as how swollen they were. The last thing Tissaia wanted was to go down to the kitchen and meet Nenneke and Vanielle —who would surely be having a coffee there and waiting for her to go get the ice, aware of how worried she would be by Yennefer's hand—, so she stopped for a moment to think of some alternative, smiling when she found it.

"Tissaia, what...?" Yennefer frowned when the woman came down from bed and walked barefoot to the window.

Tissaia opened the window and wrinkled her nose when the air entered ferociously, dragging snowflakes with it. The room cooled in a matter of seconds and the front of the headmistress ended up covered in snow, but that didn't stop the woman from taking a couple of steps forward and using her bare hands to load a handful of snow before closing the window. Taking small leaps to prevent her bare feet from touching too much snow, Tissaia returned to Yennefer's place and knelt in front of her.

"The hand," she commanded gently, repressing a smile when the young woman obeyed almost instantly. Tissaia placed the snow on the brunette's hand, taking care not to put too much pressure nor to damage it any more, "are you going to tell me what you've done to get your hand like this? "

Silence was the only response the headmistress got for almost a minute, but that didn't change anything, as she didn't plan to move until she made sure she had managed to lower the swelling or calm the pain in Yennefer's hand a little bit.

"I think I've broken Vilgefortz's nose," the teacher muttered, without raising her gaze of her hand, held between the woman’s and the snow, "I didn't stay to check it out".

"What? Why...?" Tissaia's eyes were completely widened, her concern increasing even more when she heard that. It was not that she wasn't happy, she was delighted that someone had hit that idiot, but the last thing she needed was for Yennefer to get in trouble because of her, no matter how hot it might be.

"Because he had no right to approach you, Tissaia," Yennefer raised her head, she had a frown and almost seemed annoyed by the question, "nor to touch you, let alone kiss you without your consent".

"It was just a silly thing," it was now Tissaia who looked down, unable to hold her gaze due to the intensity of violet eyes, "I'm sure it wasn't on purpose".

"Are you really going to tell me he’s harassing you by accident?" The brunette's free hand ended up under the headmistress's chin, Yennefer's index exerting minimal pressure to make her look at her, "he should have never forced himself on you and it was not a fucking accident… I’ll ask Vanielle and Rita for help, they sure know where to hide a corpse in the school ground".

Instead of using words, Tissaia shook her head and let her expression reflect how defeated she felt about it; she was tired of maintaining a facade where it seemed that everything was fine and that nothing really affected her. The headmistress wasn't sure how Yennefer was managing to lower each and every one of her barriers and defense systems, but she had achieved more in three days than many people in years. Tissaia sat on her own heels, trying not to shake, because her clothes had got wet in the snow and the room was still too cold to be healthy.

"If you need a bodyguard, I wouldn't mind having a second job while I'm not teaching or correcting exams," Yennefer winked at her, even though they both knew she meant it for real.

"Are you so eager to get an excuse to be staring at my ass all day?" The woman raised an eyebrow; she wasn't deflecting the conversation at all, nope.

Yennefer widened her eyes suddenly, feeling her cheeks begin to burn and her jaw fall open. Perhaps, and only perhaps, that possibility had passed through her mind several times, but she hadn't thought she’d be called out so soon.

"N-- W-- Yes?" Opening and closing her mouth without knowing how to get out of it, the young woman tried with sincerity, making Tissaia laugh at it.

"I appreciate your honesty," carefully, the headmistress began to take the snow away from Yennefer's hand, assessing it appearance a second time, while trying to keep her own limbs not shaking, "but I don't need a bodyguard, I'm fine".

"You may not need it, but you're not fine," being the one who was worried now, Yennefer stroked Tissaia's cheek, twisting her face as she felt how cold she was, "can we light the chimney and sit in front of her for a while like yesterday? No need to be naked if you don’t want to."

After so long knowing Tissaia, the woman was sure that the principal would only accept help if she didn't have to ask for it directly or if it wasn't too obvious that she was offering it to her, so the brunette prayed that it was enough to convince the chestnut to do something to warm up. Tissaia nodded after a moment of consideration and stood up, letting Yennefer's left hand go to extend her own limb and offer help to the young woman to get up. Yennefer used her right hand to hold Tissaia's, but she could not suppress the impulse and, instead of following her to the chimney, once they both stood, she pulled the headmistress towards her and surrounded her with both arms, narrowing her body against herself. Yennefer's mind was beginning to look for hundreds of excuses before Tissaia's body was completely stuck against hers, but from one moment to the next she went blank, as the woman's arms had ended up surrounding her waist, against all odds.

"I can't light the chimney if you don't let go of me, Yenna," Tissaia whispered, resting her head on the brunette's chest and closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she shook her a little harder, "I couldn't help it. Although I can get you near the chimney, so you don't get tired".

"Don't even think about it," the chestnut made some force with her head against Yennefer's chest in a way to complain, before turning back".

Yennefer let her go without resistance, as she did not want to overwhelm her or be more invasive than she was already being, but the other woman did not hesitate to take her hand again and pull her to the side where the chimney was. The brunette only stopped for a moment, when they passed by the bed, to take a blanket with which she was thinking to shelter the other woman once both were comfortably seated on the floor and the fire burning.

Tissaia soon got the wood on fire, so once her mission was over, she turned to look at violet, thoughtful eyes. Her body made the decision before her mind could expose any of the many reasons why she should not sit between Yennefer's legs again; so, by the time the arguments began to make sense on her head, the young woman had already understood what Tissaia was indirectly asking for and had surrounded her body with both arms and the blanket, then resting her head on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Tissaia whispered, "for doing what I couldn't".

"You don't have to thank me at all," Yennefer tightened her arms to better hug the woman, even if the gesture was more brazen than would have been appropriate, "I did it because he deserved it and because I'd been dying to beat him for years".

"What? Why?" Those were becoming her more said words those days, but Tissaia turned her head a little so that she could look at Yennefer with ease, taking the opportunity to adjust her position and relax between the brunette's arms, who only shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," the young lady murmured, "I think it bothers me that he flirts with you all the time when I had not even the courage to ask you out, I'm sorry".

"You have nothing to apologize for, it’s kind of adorable, "with her eyes closed, the headmistress took a deep breath, maybe, if Yennefer was her soulmate it would be the most logical thing —for it was very hard for someone to see their destined partner flirting with another person—, but of course, she was not, "by the way, remember the teacher you meant to prove her wrong?"

"Mhm... Yes, I think I can imagine her face and I kind of remember how good she looked on jeans," grateful for the change of subject and hating the ease with which her cheeks turned red, Yennefer smiled, "what about her?"

"She’s so sorry she’s been ignoring you since yesterday," the chestnut finally said.

"She's forgiven if you tell me what did I do to annoy her".

"You didn't do anything, the problem is me," Tissaia turned a little more, until her eyes were fixed on the brunette's. That was a terrible idea, and anyway, the words were coming out before she could help it, "I find it hard to think when I have you around and that leads me to make stupid decisions".

"Like going to the city in the middle of a blizzard?"

"No, that one was already on my mind, more like wanting to kiss you".

"I have that problem too," Yennefer used her right hand to remove a brown lock and place it behind the headmistress’ ear gently, "I mean, how could I think of anything when I have the most perfect woman in the universe between my legs?"

Tissaia raised an eyebrow and the teacher didn’t need anything else to realise what she had just said.

"I mean sat. Not like fucking me. Unless you want to, of course… But I meant like next to me. Nothing sexual, just the most perfect woman being in front of me," she panicked enough to make Tissaia laugh while trying not to look at her lips, but the older woman was not going to press her on it.

"It must be hard for you to stop looking in the mirror, then" the headmistress smiled smugly, moving her head toward the hand that had ended up on your cheek again. It was warm and soft and felt just right.

"I was talking about you... You'd make a fool of Novigrad's best sculpture, you know," Yennefer was looking at the woman’s lips hungrily.

"Said the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," Tissaia whispered, trying not to let her gaze come down from the violet orbs.

"Just because... I can't even think of what to say, I can only think of kissing you," she complained.

"Hm... Yes, I seem to remember you owe me a kiss," Tissaia smiled, raising a hand to Yennefer's neck. She shouldn’t be doing that. She was going to ruin everything and she couldn’t afford it to happen.

"May I?" Yennefer waited for the woman to nod one last time before closing the distance between the two, pressing her lips over Tissaia's so gently and softly that the headmistress hesitated if they were even in contact.

Forgetting all the reasons not to do so, Tissaia grabbed the brunette's sweater with her free hand to pull more of it and stick to her as much as possible, while kissing Yennefer back and trying to increase contact between the two, deepening the kiss. Yennefer's lips tasted like chocolate and gooseberries, they were warm, soft and kissed much better than the headmistress had imagined in her dreams; how she had been able to live up to that point without kissing them was a mystery she could never solve. Yennefer's hands were kept in safe areas, such as the chestnut cheeks, her nape, her waist, her ass... Oh no, not her ass. As soon as the young woman noticed the drowning sound of Tissaia against her lips, she quickly raised her hands back to her hips and leaned back, ending the kiss. Tissaia, completely at odds with the decision, followed the woman's movement and rejoined her lips again, rising a little so that she could reach them. The second kiss was more clumsy, agitated and needy, becoming hungrier the more they both kissed.

However, the need to catch their breath led them to separate, after a few minutes. Completely blushing and ashamed of their own behavior, Tissaia decided that the most mature thing she could do was bury her face against the woman's shoulder and avoid confronting whatever the consequences of what had just happened were. She wasn't used to losing control of that way, so she had no idea of how she was supposed to deal with whatever had just happened.

"Tissaia?" Yennefer's voice was somewhat deeper than before. The headmistress growled gently to tell her to continue, unable to look her in the face just yet, "do you think Aphrodite is going to be angry that I kissed you without having a single date before?"

The question was so unexpected that it pulled a laugh out of the chestnut, who threw her head back to look at Yennefer.

"I want to think she will not," she finally replied, "although I don't think anyone is paying attention to us either, not even her… I mean, the gods surely have more interesting things to do, right?"

Surely, if she had known that the goddess was fed up with them _not_ kissing and that she was, in fact, wasting her time watching them with a bowl of popcorn, waiting for someone to dare to take a step forward, her answer would have been much less carefree. But of course, they were all legends, weren't they?

"Oh, good thing," Yennefer used her right hand to leave some caresses on the principal's back, "though, just in case, I'll try not to kiss you again until tomorrow".

"Why tomorrow?"

"For... Well... The dance... I... The truth... I mean... I thought... Tomorrow... A date," Yennefer's babbling was difficult to translate, as the woman was so nervous that she couldn't even get her thoughts in order. However, Tissaia felt so identified with that panic about her situation that she could only smile and caress Yennefer's cheek tenderly.

"No more kissing until tomorrow then," whispered the chestnut, trying to stop looking at Yennefer's lips, though it was going to be very difficult.

"I have been able to hold for years, I can… Fuck it, I can’t do that" the teacher leaned forward, but her lips met Tissaia's cheek as she turned her head. Yennefer tried to hide the disappointment of not finding the other woman's vanilla and coffee-flavored lips, "this is going to be horrible".

Tissaia laughed and nodded, turning on Yennefer's arms to rest her back against Yennefer's chest and snuggle up in the embrace. The brunette tightened her grip and smiled, letting her lips kiss Tissaia's hair, before resting her chin on it. Between the heat provided by the fire and the body of the other woman, not even the uncomfortable position they both had, sitting on the floor, could prevent the weight of their eyelids from making them close them several times, until in the last of them they did not open again.

"Amazing," whispered a woman with golden hair and golden eyes, as she separated from the wall and walked to the door, "you're a bloody killjoy, Morpheus. I am not forgetting this one".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What kind of person would I be if I gave you the answers before the last chapter?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is how it ends, I hope you've enjoyed the story. I know it may not be what you were waiting for, but I swear that on my mind it had a lot of sense.
> 
> Also, dear anon, sorry to make almost 26k out of that prompt, I guess I am not good summarizing.

"Are you going to bring me up to date with Tissaia's progress?" Keira closed the book she had been reading, but did not get out of bed, just watching the brunette change her clothes.

"Vilgefortz has kissed her," Vanielle put her clothes aside and approached the bed to grab her pajamas, as the blonde looked at her in horror.

"What? How? Why?"

"I don't know, but it was obvious that it wasn't with Tiss' consent," Vanielle put on her shirt and then stopped to look at the woman with a sad expression, "he let her go when we got close and she ran away".

"Is she all right? Do you want me to talk to her? Have you killed him?"

"You know she hates talking about her stuff, even if it's with the most beautiful psychologist on the Continent," the brunette knelt on the bed and approached Keira, "he’s alive for now, but when nana and I went looking for her, Tissaia was with Yennefer".

"What?" Keira placed both hands on Vanielle's shoulders to keep her from getting too close, she needed more information about that and she could be very distracting. "So Philippa won? Did I win? Did you?"

Vanielle laughed and shook her head, managing to steal her a kiss.

"Neither of us has won anything yet, though we are so close to loose… But hey have just kissed for now," Vanielle briefly summed up what had happened when Nenneke and she had gone to see the headmistress, smiling at the curious way she looked at her, "I know Tissaia since she was a child, believe me, I will know when she finally gets laid with the woman she has been in love with for more than a years, even if she didn’t know back then. So, the only ones stil on the pool are Triss, Rita, Nana, Sheala and I... Although I don't think Rita's prediction of ‘wedding in six months’ is going to come".

"Mhm, love, I've read their files and heard you talk about them, no prediction is going to come as expected," Keira let out a little laugh when the brunette looked at her badly, "each one of us plays the cards we have. But let's see, how can I help you win so you stay here for the rest of our lives?" The smile Keira gave the brunette was not naïve enough to believable, so Vanielle laughed and kiss her again.

* * *

The next day was devoted entirely by students and teachers to finish arranging details for the ball that would take place that same night. There were still too many things to prepare and Tissaia had to make sure everything was perfect before seven o'clock in the afternoon, so as soon as she had woken up, she had apologized to Yennefer for having to practically flee. The brunette, understanding the principal's concern, simply smiled and told her not to forget that night they had a date, before getting up from the floor and going back to her room.

From that moment in the morning, the two women had not seen each other again, but considering that Tissaia did not spend more than five minutes in the same place and that she was moving through the school from one end to the other, it was impossible to find her unless she sought hard. Anyway, Yennefer had several things to do throughout the day and was going to need Triss' help for one of the most important. The botany teacher spent almost two hours explaining to Yennefer how to properly weave the flowers to achieve what she wanted, especially considering the ones she had selected. Triss was delighted with her friend's idea, so she didn't hesitate a second to offer her any plant in the greenhouse for that purpose, even if it was one of the most expensive and rare they had.

While Triss had never seen Yennefer so nervous and concerned about the simplest details, Sabrina had decided that she wanted to know absolutely nothing about them until they ceased to behave like five-year-old girls, so she sent Rita a message, wanting to know if on the other side of the relationship, the situation was similar. Margarita, to the surprise of anyone who knew her well enough, was sober and helping Tissaia with the latest details of the salon —which absolutely everyone was forbidden to enter until dance time, except Tissaia, Vanielle and Nenneke— so it took her a while to respond to the messages, but when she started doing so, the three women kicked her out of the room.

> _**Sabrina** : Does Tissaia also look like a teenager who is going out with her crush?_
> 
> _**Rita** : Aren't they both teens going out with their crush?_
> 
> _**Sabrina** : Touché._
> 
> _**Sabrina** : I still can't believe I've lost._
> 
> _**Rita:** Remember not to kill them for not having had sex._
> 
> _**Sabrina** : Last night they slept together. THEY SLEPT!!!!_
> 
> _**Sabrina** : THEY COULD HAVE I DON’T KNOW, FUCK EACH OTHER SENSELESS????_
> 
> _**Rita** : Welcome to the love life of Tissaia de Vries._
> 
> _**Sabrina** : anyway, they haven't even kissed, Yennefer had nothing on her wrists, I hate them._
> 
> _**Rita:** What? Not even a kiss? I'm going to kill them._

To be fair, Rita hadn’t checked if Tissaia had anything on her wrist, so she was going to trust Sabrina just for now.

* * *

Tissaia was no idiot, she knew what her wrist tattoo meant and a part of her was completely terrified. The woman had spent so many years trying to convince herself that not only would she not get a blessing from Aphrodite, but she was one of those few people for which there was no predestined soulmate. Now contemplating the drawing of her wrist, she did not even know what to think at all. Unlike all the tattoos she had seen so far, hers was not a black rose, vaguely drawn on the skin; it was a rose, yes, but its petals were white and carefully drawn on its pale wrist, so they created a certain sense of relief. Moreover, in case that obvious difference with anyone else was small, the flower seemed to be emerging from a white floor that was vaguely similar to snow. Maybe it had been childish to wear one of her watches to cover her wrist and make sure no one could see that tattoo on her skin, but considering that she was wearing long sleeves and that it was a fairly common accessory on either of her two arms, it wasn't that big of a deal... It wasn't like she was behaving like an idiotic teenager or anything, she was just unready for the questioning.

Aware that that same night she would be busy with the ball, Tissaia began pacing on her room from side to side. Rita had practically chosen the clothes she had to wear and Vanielle had approved them, so the headmistress could not use an existential crisis justified by the clothes she was going to wear as an excuse not to go to the ball, or to, at least, occupy her mind for the remaining hour. With a sigh, Tissaia dropped into bed and sought her cell phone between the sheets; considering that night she couldn't call Ciri, the best thing she could do not to disappoint her niece was to call her a little earlier.

"Cintra Captaincy, can I help you," the sharp little voice surprised Tissaia, though she didn't bother to hide her amusedT smile.

Turning her voice a grave and sore, the woman cleared her throat.

"Good afternoon, do you know a Tissaia de Vries?"

"Hmm... Maybe," the girl frowned and swayed her little feet at the counter, watching her grandmother carve a statue, "who’s asking?"

"I'm her girlfriend," Tissaia bit her lower lip, to contain a laugh.

"Well, you don't sound like Yen, so I don't believe you," the girl said, offended, "find other gilfiend. Goodbye".

"What?" Tissaia's sharp cry made the girl not to hang up.

Frowning and confused, Ciri spent a moment assessing the situation and trying to figure out what was going on.

"I won't say things without a sawyer," the girl finally said, making her aunt laugh at it.

"It’s me, little cub… And you’d better get a lawyer instead a sawyer," Tissaia shook her head, "I just wanted to know how you were today… But what did you mean, you didn't believe my joke because I didn't sound like Yennefer?"

"Ah... That’s wat I said, auntie," the kid snorted, "and I can't tell you, it's secret stuff," she wrinkled her lips, not finding a decent excuse, "say hello to her for me".

"I will, you have my word," not wanting to press on Ciri, the woman sighed, "do you want me to ask her for a picture of her dress for you to see later?"

Wait, what? Did she just say that? Why? What was wrong with her mind? Would she have broken her brain? Could she give it back?

"Yes! But with you!" Ciri screamed, excited.

"I'll do my best, but I promise I’ll get it".

"Okaaaaaay..." The girl swung her legs again, happily, "and have you kissed yet? Now that she's your date for the ball, are you getting married? Can I be the flower girl".

"What? No, no, no way. No weddings, we kissed just once," the older was quick to respond, enlarging her eyes when she realized what she had said. Now there was no way back.

The girl jumped off the counter for the excitement, letting out a scream and running towards Calanthe.

"Granny! Granny! Granny! Aunt Ti and Yen have kissed! They are going to be girl-frrrriends! They have to marry now!"

"What the fuck?" Calanthe's voice sounded a little distant, but the woman quickly took the girl on her arms to take the phone to her ear and scream again, "what-the-fuck?!"

"Uh... Look how late it is, I have to get dressed... Don’t swear in front of the kid. Love you. Bye!"

Tissaia hung up before her sister had time to complain and she disconnected the wi-fi to stop receiving messages —in a matter of seconds Calanthe had been able to send her three—, she knew her sister would probably try to call her back, so the best thing she could do now was get in the shower and forget her phone for a while. With the time she had left, Tissaia still had plenty to comb her hair and put on her makeup, before getting on the dress.

Rita's choice for her was a long burgundy night dress with an elegant, and not very pronounced, neckline, which was still much more than the chestnut usually wore. The dress had bare shoulders and the cut of the neckline enhanced her breasts, even if she didn't show too much of her pale. The top of the dress fit her torso, highlighting her curves, while the skirt fell around her with ease. Not wanting to wear the neck so bare, Tissaia placed a different necklace than the one she used to wear —adding to it the pendant of the first—, then, she put on earrings to match the jewel. Her hair was collected at the base of her neck and some softly curled locks on the front escaped freely, framing her face.

There were still ten minutes left for Yennefer to pick her up when Tissaia finished getting dressed and started looking in the mirror, unsure with her appearance. The more she looked at her own image, the more convinced she was that she should take off her makeup, comb her hair differently, or look for another dress; so, when someone knocked on the door, Tissaia had already opened the closet and started analyzing her options, what made her to freeze on site. Without getting an answer, the person on the other side knocked a second time and then chose to ask, so she could check if the headmistress was in there.

"Tissaia?" Yennefer's voice was the only thing that made the woman react, quickly approaching to open the door and opening it. "Holy fuck... I think I’m too gay for this," whispered the brunette, needing a moment to carefully analyze the figure of Tissaia. Would it be unpolite to just ravage her there and then?

"I... Uh... I was going to change..."

"What? Why? You look perfect like this," the teacher frowned when Tissaia looked down, "Tissaia, I mean it... If I could think of anything beyond ripping off your dress right now, I'd think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and that you look like a fucking goddess… Just tell me I didn’t say the part of ripping off your clothes aloud".

A small smile was drawn on Tissaia's lips, who could only bite her lower lip while watching the brunette from top to bottom. Yennefer had chosen for long high-waisted trousers, which perfectly enhanced her curves; in them she had hooked a white shirt with the first buttons open and a burgundy bow tie untied around her neck. Although the shirt was not tight, the neckline was elegantly suggestive and Tissaia had to look away when she realized she had stared at the curve of her breast longer than it was educated, so she removed a wrinkle from Yennefer's black jacket to disguise a little. The young woman, however, took her hand carefully and approached it to her lips so she could leave a kiss on it.

"I brought you something..." With a nervous smile, Yennefer pulled her left hand from behind her back and offered a small box of paper to her, for that's all she could get, "I wasn't sure if you wanted the flower, so I thought maybe you might like this..."

With great curiosity, Tissaia opened the box and smiled upon seeing its contents. Inside there was a kind of handmade black bracelet in which several small white roses had woven, so that each was braided in a waveform in three different rows. The chestnut assumed that Yennefer would have had to make delicate deals with Triss to get her to let her take that variety of dwarf white roses in particular —how would she know that Triss had even offered to make the bracelet herself just to make sure it was perfect, and they got married at once?—, which, besides, were Tissaia's favorites because, despite their small size, once they took root they were very difficult to kill.

The headmistress took the bracelet carefully and offered it to Yennefer, smiling when the brunette understood what she wanted and took her hand to place it on her wrist. Yennefer's brows frowned when, while secureing the bracelet, she noticed the tattoo that now adorned the woman's skin, taking her arm carefully to rotate it and analyze the drawing properly.

"What...?" Yennefer looked up to perch her eyes on the blue, nervous ones.

Tissaia's smile suddenly became shy and her cheeks dyed a soft reddish color.

"I guess kissing before a date didn't piss Aphrodite," the chestnut bit her lower lip, "I must say it's a beautiful exposure, to hold on..." Then, she looked at the woman’s eyes and tilted her head, confused, "what's wrong, Yenna?"

"It can't be..." Anguished, she lifted up the sleeves of her jacket and showed her two empty wrists, in them there was not any kind of mark beyond the scars.

When Tissaia realized that Yennefer did not actually have a tattoo, a drop of cold sweat began to descend down her neck, as her stomach emptied and she began to feel a cold, unpleasant sensation, dazed. It was not possible... Yennefer had to have a tattoo, just like she had it. She couldn't not have it, because she was the only person she'd kissed since the log had been lit; she was the only person she had kissed in years, no one else had come close enough to her except... No. No. No. Anything but that. Don't let it be him. Anything but it.

Tissaia began to retreat, her eyes wide open and reflecting much better the panic than she would have liked. Worried, Yennefer stepped towards her and it was the only thing that helped her hold the headmistress’ arm before she fell to the ground when she tripped into her heels and dress. Holding Tissaia's arm with one hand, Yennefer surrounded her waist with the other and helped her regain position. Then, she pressed the chestnut against her body; she wasn't sure if that would help in any way, but at least she had to try.

"Breathe with me. Come on, you can do it, just breath with me," the woman whispered, leaving a caress at the chestnut waist, "whatever you're thinking, stop it. There must be some mistake, they've probably have some kind of confusion up there in the Olympus or something, but it's clear that I should have the mark," when Tissaia rested her head against her chest, doing her best to breath properly, Yennefer took the hand that wasn't on her waist to her neck to caress her skin gently, "something went wrong and that's why they forgot about my mark, so tonight I'm going to have to kiss you until it shows up... If you'll let me, of course".

"It wasn't your most romantic way of asking me…" Tissaia conceded, closing her eyes and still shaking, "but we can try it".

"I'm sorry, it's just that... I can't imagine anyone else being my soul mate," Yennefer sighed, "I don't want to imagine my life with anyone but you… And besides, you were the one who always had my heart, you know".

"That's definitely more romantic, dear" although her smile was minimal and she was still upset, Tissaia raised her head a little to look at the other woman eyes, "but what if...?"

"In that case I will have a very unkind talk with the gods. I won't let him come near you," Yennefer said, staring into her blue eyes, what kind of monster would assign a man as a soulmate of a gay woman? What the fuck was wrong up there? Resting her forehead on Tissaia's, Yennefer placed one of the brown locks that had been loose behind the woman's ear. "May I?"

Instead of responding, Tissaia stood on her toes, resting both hands on Yennefer's waist, and joined her lips with those of the younger woman. She was sure that Yennefer was right, and the gods had made a mistake, she refused to share the rest of her life with a person who caused her repulsion and that made it harder to look at his face every day. There was no other possible explanation. Her tongue ran through Yennefer's lower lip, though she did not have time to finish doing so before the teacher's lips opened to let her in, as her hands began to caress the woman's torso. One of Yennefer's hands descended to the headmistress’ ass —to which she gave a firm squeeze, as she had wanted to do for years and so close to do the night before—, and the other was used to deepen the kiss, while stroking the nape of the woman’s neck.

Before either of them realized, Yennefer was pinned to the wall by the door and several more buttons on her shirt were now open, allowing a perfect view of her red lace bra, the exact same cue as the principal’s dress. Yennefer's lips soon attacked the other woman's neck, leaving kisses all over the skin they reached and even sucking in some areas, with a little more strength than she should, considering they still had a ball to attend. One of Tissaia's legs ended up between the young woman thighs, so Yennefer adjusted her position to leave enough space for the chestnut to do whatever she wanted. That was definitely not what either of them had thought when Yennefer had proposed a kiss, but they weren't going to complain when they clearly had more interesting things on their hands. It was just Rita's knock on the door and her voice that caused both women to startle and stop for long enough to assess the situation.

"Tissaia, are you there? It's late and the headmistress dance goes first," the blonde sighed, from across the wooden door, just to be surprised when the door suddenly opened. Trying to disguise her surprise and to ignore the way Yennefer was fastening her shirt, the blonde took a couple of steps forward and, taking a handkerchief out of her handbag, started removing the lipstick from her friend's face, "I'll get you five more minutes, but whatever you do in them, fix that makeup… Oh, and cover the hickeys if you don’t want nana asking".

Without the need of blusher from now on, Tissaia merely nodded once and watched her friend walk down the aisle, leaving them behind. When Yennefer was satisfied with the result of her clothes, she walked to Tissaia's dressing table to retrieve one of the brushes, to which she put makeup, and lipstick.

"I’ll take care of that... After all, it was my fault," With a little smile, the brunette approached Tissaia and began to fix her makeup with considerable care and agility, erasing any evidence of what had just happened. When she started passing the lipstick through her lips, Tissaia was almost certain that it was impossible for the any human but Yennefer to be making a simple action as painting her lips that fucking erotic.

Satisfied with her work, Yennefer spent a moment fixing her own look before directing a new smile to the chestnut and offering her arm. Tissaia grabbed it and tried to smile back, breathing deep a couple of times to try to swallow her nerves; whether they wanted the gods or not, she was sure that if anyone had to be her soulmate, it would be Yennefer and she wasn't willing to accept anyone else.

"What did Rita mean? About the headmistress’ dance going first?"

"What...? How could you spend all your teenage years here and be working at the academy for two more, but not having realized that I'm the one who always has to open the ball? And all the events, for that matter," Tissaia rested her head against Yennefer's arm as they walked down the aisle, "I thought you knew you'd have to dance with me while everyone look at us. Normally Vanielle or Rita do it, but this year the two have told me they wouldn’t and... I really hoped I could do it with you," she muttered, worrying her lower lip nervously.

"It would be an honor," Yennefer smiled at her, nervous and excited equally, "and I'm sure a certain lion cub would die to see it".

"Oh! Speaking of Ciri, she asked me to say hello to you and if I could send her a picture of us, so see how we're doing for the dance... She wants to give us her approval," Tissaia avoided looking at the woman, but she had no choice when Yennefer stopped a meter from the stairwell.

"Then we can't leave the kid down, can we?" Taking her own cell phone out of a jacket pocket, Yennefer dropped Tissaia's arm to round her waist and stick her to herself, before using the mirror in front of which she had stopped to take the photo. Taking out many more than she’d recognized, she sent a couple of them to Tissaia and then winked at her, "it's impossible to capture all your beauty, but I bet Ciri will be served anyway".

"I'm sure she will... Thank you very much, Yenna," Tissaia stood on her toes to kiss the brunette's cheek, but remembering that she had to keep her makeup intact, she just rubbed the tip of her nose against her skin, "so are you ready? To dance".

"Yes. I've danced two or three times already".

"But you haven’t done so good in any of them," guessed the older woman.

"I’ve tried, but my feet don’t like to help me… It’s time to accept that they don’t have much left to give".

"You still have a so much left to give... Try to follow in my lead and, then, this holiday, let me teach you how to dance properly," Tissaia bit her inner cheek, but she didn't hide her big smile when Yennefer nodded and began to move again.

When they both went down the stairs, Tissaia's hand was back on Yennefer's arm and both smiled in a way that had rarely been seen in any of them. Triss had been serious when she had said that the two women made a beautiful couple, but it was not until that moment that the botanic teacher was aware of how right she was and how perfect they looked side by side; they really were made to be together and that was a thought that no one was going to rip from the heads of virtually all the staff —except for a few specific cases. Vilgefortz had disappeared as soon as he had seen Tissaia go down the stairs with Yennefer, abandoning Stregobor to his fate and leaving him alone, surrounded by a large number of people who hated him.

To Yennefer's surprise, dancing was much easier than she remembered and, by following Tissaia's lead, she was managing to do it decently. One part of the brunette wanted to think that it was the way the gods had to make up for the mistake of not putting the tattoo on her wrist, but another was completely certain that things were simply being the way they were meant to be and that, at last, the pieces of the puzzle that was her life were beginning to fit. Moreover, every time Yennefer looked the woman in the eye, the world around them disappeared and she could feel as if the two of them were the only people on the Continent.

The huge hall was decorated with dim blue and white lights, which reinforced the winter atmosphere and caused bright flashes every time they reached the garlands or ornaments that hung on the walls and roof. The glass lamps hanging from the ceiling were off and their crystals refracted the different beams of light, offering a similar appearance to that of three moons that illuminated the entire living room. The first dance did not last as long as the young woman would have liked, because, despite not knowing how to dance and having been only following in the footsteps set by Tissaia, she was having much more fun than she had expected at the time when the headmistress revealed that they would have to dance together in front of everyone. With the next song, virtually everyone took their partner and dragged them to the center of the room; Tissaia, however, stopped and took Yennefer's hand to guide her among the people to one of the tables.

"To not know how to dance, you've done very well," the chestnut smiled and had two glasses of non-alcoholic cider.

"I have a great teacher," Yennefer, took the drink and lifted it in the direction of Tissaia, "but anyway, I'd like to take those dance classes you mentioned earlier".

"You flatter me," after toasting with her, she took the cup to her lips for a little sip, then looked her in the eye, "it will be my pleasure".

Yennefer smiled and bent down to leave a kiss on Tissaia's cheek. The contact was longer than it should have, so they both got startled and had a step back when someone cleared her throat next to them. Nenneke looked at them with a mocking smile, ignoring the rest of the people.

"I haven't seen such an impressive opening in years," the old lady looked at them with both eyebrows on the side.

"Oh, thank you," Yennefer whispered.

"There is nothing to it," the old lady extended a hand toward the brunette, who looked at her confusedly and did not move.

"There's nothing to see, nana," Tissaia approached the brunette and took her free hand to intertwine her fingers with hers.

"Rita told me you kissed," the old lady frowned, and extended her other hand to Tissaia. The headmistress left her cup on the table and then offered her left hand to the old lady, so she could see her wrist, covered by the bracelet Yennefer had given her. Nenneke carefully pulled the bracelet away and analyzed the tattoo on her wrist, thoughtfully. "Are you sure you don't have anything, dear?"

Nenneke did not look up at first, but when she looked at the brunette, Yennefer had her eyes nailed to the ground and he gently shook her head.

"And have you made sure you don't have it anywhere else?" The old lady tilted her head, hiding a smile when she saw her eyes widening.

"Is that possible?" Hope shone in Yennefer's eyes when the old woman shrugged.

"Haven't either of you spoken to Vanielle?"

"No, why?" Tissaia looked at Nenneke, curious.

"Find her and you’ll have your answer," Nenneke let go of Tissaia's hand and waved her fingers to say goodbye to both before approaching Francesca, surely to convince her to go talk to her girlfriend at once.

"Well... Tissaia?"

"Yes, dear?" Tissaia turned her head to look Yennefer in the eye when she let go of her hand.

"Would you mind come with me to my room?" The young woman's cheeks were burning red, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Inviting me to your room on the first date? Who would have thought of you, Miss Vengerberg?"

"Or… You could grant me this dance," Yennefer left the cup on the table and turned to look at her, holding her right hand up.

Tissaia smiled and took her hand, following her back to the center of the dance floor. The song was slow, so quite a few people felt it was not too early to dance something like that with their partners. Within seconds, the only people dancing were Tissaia and Yennefer, Rita and Philippa, Triss and Sabrina, Geralt and Jaskier, Keira and Vanielle, Lytta and Ida, Francesca and Sheala, and some seniors brave enough to risk dancing a song like that one with their dates.

Yennefer's arms surrounded Tissaia’s waist, who had her limbs around the other woman's neck. They danced as close as they could, getting lost in each other's eyes and forgetting where they were for a while. Tissaia's head ended up resting on Yennefer's chest when she closed her eyes, letting the scent of lilacs and gooseberries envelop her. The world around them disappeared again and the very idea of before returned to their minds: now everything was as it should be, as it always should have been. Perhaps it was what led Yennefer to lean forward, until her forehead was supported against the chestnut’s, or Tissaia to raise her head enough to join her lips with those of the teacher. Yes, maybe Stregobor or Fringilla could give them problems after that, but it wasn't as if it was still a secret that all the staff had their own affairs, what difference would two more people make? The couple only came back to reality when the rhythm of the music changed, after two slow songs, encouraging everyone who had fled to dance again. Although the kiss ended, Tissaia again rested her head against Yennefer's chest and closed her eyes, not wanting to part with her.

"Do you want us to sit down for a while?"

Instead of answering, Tissaia glanced quickly around her. Yes, maybe that was going to be a stupid decision, which she'd probably regret, and that shouldn't go through the mind of a school principal, but... Taking Yennefer's hand, Tissaia walked towards the door, pulling the other woman behind her. Surprised, Yennefer didn't even have time to assimilate what looked like some impulsive way to accept her previous offer —which she didn't plan to complain about, but wasn’t expecting either— so she walked after the headmistress trying not to laugh like an excited child. The side door of the living room closed behind them —using the main stairs would only have made them draw too much attention, so they would take a detour—, dampening the sound of the music. Neither of them said anything, instead, Yennefer used her grip on Tissaia's hand to make her stop and, because of the movement, she was forced to retreat and ended up between the brunette's arms, which soon surrounded her waist and glued her as much as possible to herself. Before either of them could be fully aware of what was going on, Tissaia's lips were again sealed by those of Yennefer, who took a few steps toward the wall, so that the headmistress’ body would get trapped between the cold stone and her anatomy. Perhaps, if that wasn't something the two women had been dreaming about too long, they would have stopped to think it wasn't the best of ideas to kiss in the middle of the corridor, for anyone could see them; but the closer they were to each other, the more they seemed to need more and the more attracted they felt. If Yennefer was honest, the gods could go fuck themselves, if Tissaia wasn't her to soulmate.

The brunette's lips had much less mercy the next time they reached the headmistress's neck, leaving a couple of marks too visible with that dress and the way her hair was collected; but far from complaining, Tissaia had to control herself so as not to let out any sound that showed the pleasure she was feeling at that moment, while tangling a hand in Yennefer's hair and ruining her braided hair, accordingly.

"We're still in the hallway..." Tissaia growled.

"You are the mathematician..." Yennefer whispered in her ear with a husky tone, holding her hands on Tissaia's ribs. "What are the chances of someone coming out and seeing us?"

"Too many if you intend to touch me where I want you to," the headmistress raised an eyebrow but had to close her eyes as she tried to soothe her own breathing. "Yenna, take me to your room before I do something stupidly irresponsible and inappropriate in the middle of the hall, please".

"Have you used that word before?" Yennefer walked her throat with her tongue, ripping a whimper from the smaller woman, "because I do want to hear you beg".

"Something tells me you could convince me of anything right now".

"Then I should take the opportunity and ask you to be my girlfriend..."

"Yes, you should," Tissaia laughed, and placed her hands on her shoulders, "let’s go".

Yennefer nodded and turned her head to kiss one of the principal's hands, before taking the other and taking her to her room. Neither of them was sure what they were doing; both were terrified of the possibility of messing things up or making a mistake, but that wasn't going to stop them at that point, and they had a mark to look for.

When Yennefer closed the door behind them, Tissaia approached her and took off her jacket before kissing her again. Her hands did not lose a single second, finding her shirt and unbuttoning each of the buttons with surprising skill, so that the garment soon fell to the ground. Yennefer put one hand on the chestnut's hip and let the other surround her body until it stopped at her ass brazenly, she smiled against Tissaia's lips. The rest of the garments of both women soon ended up wasted on the floor, something that would definitely worry them later, when they had to return to the party, but that at that time could not be more indifferent.

With no chance of their lips getting away, Tissaia pushed Yennefer to bed, doing some pressure with her hands on the other woman's torso. The brunette, not wanting to let go of her, wrapped Tissaia's waist with both arms, causing her to fall on her in bed and to laugh when it made her bite her lip. That was probably the most clumsy time they both were having when it came to have sex, but not even the lack of skill managed to cool the increasingly heated air or relieve the tension that had been accumulating over the previous days —and years. Needing to catch her breath, Tissaia threw her head back and sat straddling Yennefer's hips, taking a moment to contemplate all the details of the younger woman's face, ignoring the way Yennefer's eyes walked her body brazenly. Unable to resist temptation, Tissaia sketched a smile and did the same, freezing when her eyes passed from the woman's breasts.

Swallowing the knot that was beginning to form in her throat, Tissaia extended a hand to caress the skin under Yennefer's left breast, reviewing the outline of the violet rose she had tattooed on her heart. It was identical to the one the director had on her wrist, including the fact that she came out of a white floor, but instead of having white petals, these were lilac. When Tissaia's eyes began to fill with tears, Yennefer frowned and stroked her cheek with clear concern.

"What's going on?"

Tissaia, unable to speak, extended her hand for Yennefer to look at her own tattoo again, but when the young woman frowned and joined, until she sat down, the headmistress was only able to express her own confusion. Tissaia wrapped around the brunette's neck to maintain balance and placed her other hand under the brunette's chin to make her look at her.

"Yenna?" Now it was Tissaia who sounded worried

"It's gone," Yennefer swallowed heavily, and took Tissaia's left hand soy she could see her wrist too.

"How...?" With a frown, the headmistress leaned back a little bit, "okay, I didn't think I was ever going to ask you this, but... Could you look under my left breast?"

"Are you asking me to look at your tits?" Yennefer bit her lip, but both women ended up laughing, this being the only way for both of them to release their nerves, "because if so, I don't think I'm going to be able to stop doing so in my whole life".

"It wasn't exactly what I meant, but I don't think it’d bother me at all," acknowledged the chestnut, completely blushed.

Yennefer nodded only once before doing what the other woman had asked her to do. Her eyes went suddenly wide when, the mark that had previously been on Tissaia's wrist, was now exactly on her heart, just as Yennefer's was.

"How...?" Yennefer babbled, not knowing how to even talk.

"Do you still think the gods are too busy to ignore us?" Tissaia again caressed the violet rose, fixing her eyes on the young woman's.

"Hmm... Well, I hope they’ll stop looking for a while, because I have a few unfinished business that may be kind of private," Yennefer smirked and Tissaia only had time to laugh against her lips before abandoning herself in the young woman's arms. Before they returned to the ball, two regular black roses would be on their wrist, but the colored special ones would never leave their hearts.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Athena leaned between two of Aretuza's highest tower battlements, staring at the moon and ignoring the snowflakes that fell around her. The cold was enough to freeze any mortal who spent at least five minutes out there, but it was a pleasant contrast when compared to the heat and noise of the living room. The only sound in the tower was the howl of the wind, until a few loud footsteps on the snow burst into the tranquility in which the goddess was immersed. Stregobor leaned on the stone next to her, bringing his eyes to the moon in the same way and causing the woman's eyebrows to frown with annoyance.

"The next time you mess with our affairs," the goddess didn't even look at man, "I'll declare war openly to you. It was our move, not yours."

Stregobor laughed with cruelty.

"One way or another, you've lost your bet, dear child," Stregobor smiled smugly.

"No, you’re the one who has lost, father" the goddess smiled broadly, enjoying the confused expression of the man, "they've just returned to the ball and their union is sealed, Aphrodite just confirmed it to me. So I don't want you to come near the school ever again," Athena broke away from the tower and stretched. "Oh, and Zeus... Tell Ares that the next time he gets in our way", the golden eyes of the goddess darkened, her voice much more dangerous than the god had ever heard it before, "I will not stop Aphrodite".

The woman walked to the door facing the stairs, her appearance changing as she approached it, so that when her hand rested on the knob, it was that of an old woman. While that appearance was not what anyone would expect from a goddess, it had served her for years to keep a close eye on the mortals she and Aphrodite had selected as paladins to resolve a dispute between the two male gods and they both. She only sighed when a dark haired woman extracted herself from a wall and started to walk by her side.

"I was starting to think they would never seal it".

"Well, it took them four marks".

"Couldn’t you just put the tattoo on Yennefer’s wrist as usual?"

"And what fun would that have had?" The dark-haired woman smiled broadly, but tried to look more neutral as they came back to the ball, "love is everything in this life and in any other, dear nana," with a wink, the brunette left Nenneke’s side and walked to reach Tissaia.

Now that the two goddesses had beaten Zeus and Ares, they could both continue their mortal lives at that school and live peacefully, knowing that the two idiots would not ruin the Continent in the meantime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any question or something was not clear enough, you're welcome to ask on the comments or in tumblr, thank you so much for reading <3333
> 
> PD: Aphrodite's name is unwritten for a reason, but I'm curious to see if someone deduced who she is.


End file.
